Pansy's Revenge
by frostykitten
Summary: An angry 12 year old Pansy gets her revenge on Draco and drags poor Hermione into her scheme. It's not until 5 years later that the forgotten incident resurfaces. Will the threat of death bring them together, or will they murder each other?
1. Prologue: How the Whole Mess Began

**Prologue: How the Whole Mess Began**

**A/N: This story isn't going to fluctuate between past and present, don't worry. The first little chunk is just how the whole mess began (hence the chapter title).**

**Thanks toharrypotterluver123 for betaing! Any mistakes are probably mine, I made some tiny changes before I posted this.**

**I'm going to try and introduce CHAPTER TITLES in this story, and I'm disproportionately excited about it!**

**~Frosty**

**

* * *

_Five years ago:_**

"Drakey!" Screeched a voice entirely too loud for the quiet atmosphere of the library. Hermione rolled her eyes and leant her head closer to the thick book she'd been immersed in before the rude interruption. She didn't mind that Malfoy seemed to use the library just as much as she did, but Parkinson frequently found him there and proceeded to irritate everyone in the immediate vicinity upon finding the precious 'Drakey'.

She _almost _smiled when she heard Malfoy snarl something no doubt insulting to the high-pitched parasite that seemed to stalk him. The blond Slytherin's favourite place to study just _happened _to be right next to the table Hermione had claimed as her own at the starting of first year, so she had a front-row seat to their dramatics.

"Draco Malfoy, if you don't pay attention to me, I'm going to tell your father that you're not taking this relationship seriously! We're going to be _married _after we've finished school and you're never anything but mean to me."

Hermione's eyes widened slightly at the revelation that Malfoy was engaged to Parkinson. She'd known somewhere in the back of her mind that traditional Pureblood families often paired off their children at a young age, but she'd never bothered putting much thought into it. They were _twelve _for goodness sake; much too young to be worried about marriage. The brunette was unsure whether she should feel sorrier for Parkinson or Malfoy; either way, they probably weren't going to have a very happy marriage.

"Pansy," Malfoy gritted out between obviously clenched teeth. "What can I do to make you go away and leave me in _peace _for once?"

She started whispering quickly and rustling papers, Hermione couldn't make out any more of their conversation so she blocked out their quiet argument. Hermione went back to the book she was reading; the Chamber of Secrets had been opened and she needed to find out what kind of monster could possibly be prowling the halls of her beloved school at night.

Their quiet discussion finally ceased, but Hermione was too immersed in her reading to notice. She didn't hear the quiet growl, the scratching of a pen or the grudging footsteps approaching her table.

A shadow appeared, blocking out the light she'd been using to read. The Gryffindor tore her brown eyes from the page and glared up into the grey ones of Malfoy.

"What do you want Malfoy?" She demanded irritably, wanting nothing more to get their exchange of insults over with so she could back to her reading.

Surprisingly, the blonde pulled out the chair opposite of her and sat down. "I need you to sign this paper." He said, pushing towards her a sheet of paper with his ostentatious scrawl already decorating the bottom on a dotted line.

Hermione looked between him and the paper suspiciously. "Why would I want to do that?"

"Because Parkinson's got it in her thick head that it would be hilarious to have both of us sign our names and then draw a heart around them or something. I don't know, but she's sworn to never set foot inside the library again if we both do this."

Parkinson would _never _disturb her reading again? It was an appealing thought, but Hermione wasn't sure she could trust Malfoy – scratch that, Hermione was _positive _Malfoy couldn't be trusted. She hesitated and stared hard at the innocent-seeming piece of paper. Hopefully, the heat from her look would make it reveal whatever underhanded Slytherin plan was underway.

"Don't tell me she doesn't bother you almost as much as she bothers me Granger; I see your shoulders tense every time you hear her voice and I'm not sure you've noticed, but you mutter under your breath when you're annoyed."

Hermione snapped her eyes up to the git; he paid that much attention to her? Even though she was an insignificant Mudblood? If that was the attention he paid to the people he _hated_, she didn't want to know the level of attention he gave to people he liked - it was probably verging on stalker territory.

She continued to hesitate, looking dubiously at the paper. Despite the deviousness that was seemingly inherent in every member of the Slytherin house, Hermione didn't think Parkinson had the brainpower for anything that she wouldn't be able to reverse with a little research.

With one last weary look at Malfoy and a sigh, Hermione signed the piece of paper underneath Malfoy's name. It was greatly disconcerting that the paper briefly glowed, but nothing further seemed to happen. Her eyes snapped to Malfoy's and she saw that he was just as surprised and worried by the glowing as she was, but he quickly suppressed his emotions when he noticed that her eyes were on him.

Without another word, Malfoy snatched the paper and stormed back to Parkinson, who squealed happily and ran out of the library, leaving them to finish their reading in blessed peace.

Hermione was anxious about what evil scheme Parkinson was cooking up, but as the weeks gradually passed with no mention of the mysterious paper and the monster she'd been researching started attacking students, the small incident in the library was pushed to the back of Hermione's formidable mind and eventually forgotten.

* * *

**_Present Day:_**

Hermione stared in confusion at the ring that just _refused _to slide onto her finger. For some reason, magic propelled it from her left ring-finger every time she tried to wear the blasted thing.

When Ron had first given her the ring, she'd been thrilled; it wasn't an engagement ring, but it was a _promise _ring. Ever since they'd started dating, there hadn't been much doubt in anyone's mind –save perhaps Hermione's- that the two members of the Golden Trio were going to end up happily married. She'd been afraid that Ron would have trouble committing to one person when he could have the fawning attention of many women for his contribution to their victory in the war. The inferiority complex he'd developed had been a major roadblock in their relationship since before it had even started, but her ring proved that he was ready to grow up.

She tried to put it on the right finger one more time, watching as it was repelled and bounced to the table. Sighing, Hermione put it on the same finger of her right hand and went back to her books. Seventh year was almost over, so she was taking advantage of Hogwarts expansive library while most of her classmates were outside enjoying the warm spring day. She was going to miss the library more than anything else once she'd graduated.

At first, Ron had been hurt that she wasn't wearing the ring on her left hand, but Hermione had quickly shown him that it wasn't by choice. The one time Ron had tried to help her put the ring on for her, it had burned them both, leaving angry red welts where it had been in contact with their skin. After that, they had agreed that it was perfectly fine on her other hand – even if the meaning was somewhat reduced.

The doors to the library slammed against the wall as someone burst in. Hermione glanced up; frowning, with what Ron and Harry called her 'librarian look', at the intruder.

"Granger," Malfoy growled as he stalked across the otherwise empty room and angrily sat in the chair opposite her.

Hermione got a strange sense of déjà-vu at the action, but she dismissed it as something silly; if Malfoy was willing to lower himself to sit with her, then his reason for doing so was something more important than the vague recollection prodding her brain.

"What Malfoy?" She sighed, wanting to get their little confrontation over with so she could go back to her reading.

"Do you remember in second year when Parkinson made us both sign a paper?"

Ah, _that _was why the situation was oddly familiar. Wait, why was he asking about it, the whole episode was _years _ago.

"Vaguely, why?" She asked. Suspicion was always best when dealing with Slytherins. Upon remembering the incident, Hermione was unable to believe her twelve-year-old self had been so _stupid _as to sign something one of the snakes had handed to her – whether anything bad had come from it or not.

Malfoy reached into his pocket and pulled out a piece of paper. Their signatures were still scrawled across the bottom of the page as she remembered, but the top part was no longer blank. He smoothed the paper flat on the table before sliding it across to her.

Hermione continued to look at him suspiciously, but allowed her eyes to scan over the words.

"No..." She whispered, horrified by what she was reading.

Malfoy had his elbows on the table and his head resting in his hands, looking depressed. "I'm afraid so, Granger. Trust me, I'm not any happier about this than you are."

"No." Hermione said again, more firmly. There had to be something they could do. "Where's Parkinson?" She demanded.

Malfoy still had his head in his hands; he didn't even lift it to answer her question. "Her family fled after the war, she owled those papers to me yesterday from some undisclosed location." He looked away and mumbled something that sounded a lot like 'probably because she knew I was going to _murder _her one I found out'.

Hermione read over the paper again. "Why would she do this?"

He pulled out another piece of paper and threw it in her general direction, looking like he'd rather be anywhere else at the moment. The sentiment was _very _familiar to Hermione; she was feeling the exact same at the moment.

Carefully smoothing out the creases, Hermione bent her head to read, hoping that there wasn't going to be any more bad news.

_Draco,_

_As you know, I'm in hiding and have no intentions of ever showing my face London's Wizarding community ever again. Don't remind me of commitments I've made (like our engagement), as that won't work. You're an insufferable arsehole and I was only ever nice to you because our families required it. I never liked you and I was NOT going to marry you, so I found a way out early on._

_I'm sure you remember the incident in second year with that little piece of paper I had you and the Mudblood sign; I thought it might be interesting for you to know _what _you two were committing to. Enclosed you'll find that very paper, I'm almost sad I won't get to see the fallout._

"There has to be another option," Hermione said, turning an accusing stare on Malfoy. Why was he just sitting there looking defeated? Shouldn't he be frantically trying to get out of this situation, to flip it in his favour in some clever and sneaky way?

"You don't think I've tried to find other options?" Malfoy snapped, finally lifting his head to glare at her. "I sent both papers to Father as soon as I'd read them. He's had them extensively tested by the best lawyers money can buy and they've assured him that the contract is both legally and _magically _binding."

"Why should I believe any of this is true?" She was hoping that Malfoy was playing some kind of elaborate prank on her. How the whole thing would be funny had yet to present itself, but it had to be _anything _other than the truth.

"I heard the Weasel complaining that you couldn't put his ring on a certain finger."

She didn't see how that had anything to prove their current predicament. "So?"

"Our unwilling agreement's not going to let you promise things that aren't within your ability to promise. If it had been an engagement ring he'd given you, the pair of you would be in the hospital wing right now."

Hermione paled and looked accusingly at her ring - she knew the ring itself wasn't to blame, but she refused to believe what Malfoy was saying despite the overwhelming evidence in his favour. She pulled off her ring and tried putting it on the proper finger one more time, only to have it fly off once again.

Malfoy scoffed at her refusal to believe what was literally right under her nose. He snatched the ring when it rolled across the table to bounce on his arm. Before she had time to react, he grabbed her left hand, shoved the ring on the proper finger and then dropped her hand like it was on fire. It was just a normal ring when he had been holding it; there was nothing stopping her from making promises to _him_.

Horrified, Hermione looked between the papers and the blond across from her. "You're serious about this, aren't you? This isn't some kind of elaborate, cruel joke, you're actually telling the truth, aren't you?"

"Granger, my sense of humour may be a little twisted, but this entire situation is beyond the far side of sanity; no one sane would find this funny." He glared at the letters. "Which is why Pansy probably thinks the whole thing is hilarious."

"I can't do this! I won't, I'm too young." She insisted. Maybe they could put it off for a few years until they'd had time to try and work something else out?

Malfoy snapped his fingers in front of her face when she looked like she might pass out. "Pay attention Granger. Read the fine print! I thought you were supposed to be big on reading."

Hermione had long ago learned that trying to burn holes in his blond head didn't do anyone any good; it was like he was immune to dirty looks, which wasn't actually surprising at all considering how often they were aimed in his direction. She didn't bother wasting the energy to give him a nasty glare before she turned to the fine print.

"There's a time stipulation." She said in an empty voice. With every new discovery, Hermione watched her hopes and dreams for the future move farther and farther out of her reach.

Quickly scanning the entire document, she found that there were no specifics on what would happen if they didn't go through with the stipulations of the contract they'd signed.

"Malfoy, what happens if we just... don't?"

"Do you really have to ask? The same thing that happens if you break any magically binding vow: death."

Defeated, Hermione copied Malfoy's position, bringing her own arms to the table and resting her head in her hands.

"When's your birthday?" She asked, her voice laced with resignation. If there was no way of escaping this mess, then she wanted to know how long her period of freedom was.

"June 5th."

Hermione nearly fell out of her chair; of _course _it was only a few weeks away. She knew he'd had more time to deal with the shock of the entire situation because he'd seen the letters the previous day, but he was disturbingly calm considering it had only been around twenty hours of extra time.

"Is there any chance you skipped a year and it'll be your 17thbirthday?" She knew the answer before he even gave her a look that asked if she was really that stupid.

"Look Granger," he finally said. "I'm making an effort to be civil because it will be exhausting to be at each other's throats all the time, but you're making it _very _difficult. Could you at least _try _not to be so..." He was struggling not to say something outright offensive; she could see it in his eyes.

Hermione narrowed her eyes at him; it seemed that his version of civility wasn't much different than his version of anonymity. He was still antagonizing her on purpose; he just removed the blood slurs and direct insults.

"What kind of twelve-year-old girl carries around a _marriage agreement_?" Hermione burst out. Pansy Parkinson was more devious that she'd given her credit for.

"A Slytherin one who isn't happy with her fiancé. She couldn't break the legally binding contract we had, so she somehow managed to get her hands on a legally _and _magically binding contract that cancelled out the first one. Do you have any more unimportant questions, or are you finished wasting my time?"

Her fingertips were cold and she felt a little dizzy; Voldemort was nothing compared to _this_.

"What are we going to do Malfoy?" She asked in a rare moment of vulnerability. Why did Ron and Harry have to have Quidditch when she needed them? It wasn't like they could do anything about the situation, but Malfoy wasn't the most comforting person.

"I thought that was obvious Granger; we're going to do what will keep us alive. We're going to get married before I turn 18 and we both die for breaking our word." He grumbled. "Now if you don't have any more useless questions, I need a drink."

She watched numbly as he got up and left the library with just as much commotion as he'd caused when he entered. Short of a miracle, he was still going to be _Malfoy _when they were married, so Hermione was relatively certain one of them was going to end up a widower before the first week of their marriage was finished. Tucking a strand of hair behind her ear to keep it out of her way, Hermione turned back to the contract to see what the specifics on 'accidental' death were.


	2. A Match Made In  Well, Not Heaven

**Chapter 1: A Match Made In... Well, Not Heaven**

**A/N: For the sake of this story, Crabbe and Goyle fought with Draco in the war on the dark side, but that little incident in the ROR didn't happen... And Snape's not dead... And Fred. Let's just assume I couldn't bear to kill anyone off. Except Voldemort. He's a jerkface and thoroughly dead. Oh! And Dumbledore... But that's because he knew too much and wouldn't be fun to mess with. The knowing twinkles are only entertaining for so long. **

**Thanks to everyone who reviewed, favourited, etc. You guys are great! Also a big thank-you to harrypotterlurver123 for betaing!**

**So, I had this entire chapter finished and then first part of the next one, but I had to scrap it... I couldn't reconcile where I wanted the story to go and where it was here. I think that problem's been resolved now. So hooray!**

**~Frosty**

Draco was feeling something he hadn't felt in a long time; anxious. His parents weren't as entirely against the idea of him marrying the bushy-haired bookworm as he'd thought they'd be. The war had tarnished their family's reputation and they were willing to accept her if it would restore some of their lost respect.

He changed his depressed expression into something more threatening when he saw his two goons approaching. It was important that the two useless lumps didn't think he had any weaknesses; they might get confused as to who was in charge.

Upon seeing the armfuls of cakes and pastries both men were cradling in their arms, Draco's eyes narrowed. "Where'd you get all those?" He demanded, knowing that the Great Hall had been cutting back on desserts so they couldn't have found them there.

"Floating..." Goyle said.

"What have I told you about eating suspiciously floating food?" Draco demanded in an angry growl. "Remember what happened in second year?"

"Not to?" Asked Crabbe, looking like he was quite proud of himself for remembering.

"Then don't do it!" The blonde snapped at his thick friends. They hung their heads and followed their smaller leader as he stormed off down the hall, muttering about how difficult it was to find good lackeys.

"Hey, Draco... Are you marrying the Mudblood?" Goyle asked as they followed him. He was suddenly sporting donkey ears and Crabbe had a pig's nose; their belief in Draco and his wise rules had just been reinforced.

Draco froze in his tracks and turned to face the hulking Slytherins. "Why would you ask that?" He snapped, brutally crushing the panic that sprang into existence; he wasn't ready for people to _know._

"We got invitations to the wedding this morning." Crabbe said, fishing around in his pocket until he found a small envelope. He proudly presented it to the blonde.

Draco stared at the invitation for a long time, trying to figure out who could have done this. Since his parents, Granger, and Pansy were the only people who knew about the entire thing, and everyone but one person would be completely uninterested in putting the time and money into something so frivolous, Draco was left a single suspect: his mother. It was with horror that he noted the date stated on the invitation was _this weekend_. He had less than five days before he was to be bound to Granger for the rest of his life.

Noticing that his goons were waiting for an answer, Draco sighed. "Yes, it seems I'm getting married, and this weekend."

Glancing up from the paper, he noticed a familiar bushy head barrelling down the hall towards them. It didn't seem that she'd been seeking him out, Granger had probably just been clobbered over the head by the reality that she was soon going to be a Malfoy and there was nothing she could do about it.

Draco reached out an arm and grabbed her as she ran past, her forward momentum swung her around until she collided with his chest. The stack of books Hermione had been carrying crashed to the floor, followed by Hermione as she bounced off Malfoy's chest and fell onto a heap at his feet.

"What is _wrong _with you?" She shrilled, glaring up at him as he tried to fight off laughter.

"The only thing wrong with me is that I'm flawless. It's a heavy burden to bear." Draco watched as she collected the books scattered on the floor. He hadn't intended to mock her when he stopped her break-neck progress, so he allowed the Gryffindor to fume without insulting her and adding to the reservoir of rage she obviously carried.

The brunette rolled her eyes, but grabbed the rest of her books and stood up, making sure to put space between herself and the three Slytherins. "Did you grab me just to be an arsehole, or was there a purpose behind your bullying this time?"

"As a matter of fact, I _do _have a reason for grabbing you. If you hadn't been careening down the hall so bloody fast, then you would've just stopped like a normal person and we could've engaged in something as close to a normal conversation as a Gryffindor is capable of managing. Instead, we're having this pointless argument. I think you need to lay off the caffeine Granger."

She was tapping her foot impatiently by the time he'd finished his little rant. "What. Did. You. _Want_?"

Nothing amused Draco more than getting her riled up, but he knew that it was probably best not to push her too far, particularly when what he was about to show her was only going to make her foul mood worse. The blond held out his hand to Crabbe, hoping the dolt would be able to realize that he wanted the invitation and not one of the more than likely drugged pastries they were holding.

The two lackeys stared with confusion at the hand for a moment, trying to decide what their leader wanted. They briefly glanced at each other, seeming to be seeking help, before Crabbe moved his hand toward a cupcake, but then seemed to decide against that option. With fat and clumsy fingers, the thug managed to once again fish out the invitation from his pocket and place it on the outstretched palm. When Draco didn't yell at him for being an idiot, Crabbe shot a triumphant grin at his moronic counterpart.

"I just thought I should warn you that someone –probably my Mother- has gone ahead and sent out the invitations to our wedding. Apparently it's this weekend." Draco said in a cold voice as he handed the invitation to Granger.

She looked from the fancy envelope back to his eyes and then back to the envelope. Draco could sense that her explosion was imminent and was bracing for it when Crabbe finally sprouted a pig's nose. Before any of them had time to react, Goyle grew a pair of donkey ears with a pop.

Hermione stared at the trio of Slytherins and burst out laughing. There was so much stress building up that she was either going to laugh, cry, or go on a rampage blowing up everything that crossed her path. Her hysterical laughter was soon bouncing off the stone walls all around them.

"We broke Granger," Goyle whispered fearfully.

Draco looked at the helplessly laughing Gryffindor and started to back away slowly. He sensed that any sudden movements may cause her laughter to turn into stress induced rage and he was the most likely target for that rage. Where was the Weasel when he was actually needed?

"Just back away slowly." He urged the goons when they didn't move to follow him. The three edged back until they were a safe distance away and then fled, leaving her there in the hallway.

Hermione was vaguely aware that the Slytherins had retreated, but she couldn't seem to stop her laughing. Like crying, once you really got started, hysterical laughter was hard to stop.

Ron and Harry found her that way a while later. Her laughter was still springing forth in bursts, and she was sitting on the floor clutching the invitation Malfoy had handed her to her stomach as she tried to reign in the laughter.

"Hermione, what's wrong?" Ron asked, making sure to keep his distance from the obviously distraught woman.

Wordlessly, the brunette handed the invitation to Harry, who, unlike Ron, had actually come close to her to make sure she was all right.

Harry looked in confusion at the invitation, horror suddenly dawning on his face. "I got one of these an hour ago, but I thought it was some kind of cruel joke."

Hermione was sobered by her friend's reaction, her laughter gradually ceased until she was looking at Harry mournfully. "It's not a joke."

Predictably, Ron exploded and stormed away as Harry stayed to hear out the explanation his friend had.

"I can't get _married_! I have too much to do with my life! This throws off my whole plan." She said sadly.

Harry wasn't surprised that Hermione had planned ahead – she probably had a thirty year plan that outlined to the month when she was going to get married, have children, and when to expect her important promotions. If it wasn't _Malfoy _that she was marrying, he would almost think that scrapping her plans and living for once might be a good thing. He dropped to the floor beside her and flung an arm across her shoulders.

"Don't worry Hermione, it'll all work out... somehow."

* * *

That night at dinner, McGonagall silenced the hall and stood and addressed the hall. "It has come to my attention that there will be a wedding between two of our students this weekend." Her expression was severe as she directed a disapproving stare at Draco and then Hermione. "Transportation has been arranged for those who have an invitation _only_."

Once again regaining her seat, the headmistress let the students talk amongst themselves as they absorbed and then processed the news. Those who had already received their invitations looked grim, as they were friends with the bride or groom and knew the finer details of the upcoming union, while everyone else looked excited about the new gossip.

* * *

As with anything seriously dreaded, the day of the wedding arrived much too quickly. Hermione spent most of the time before her big day in the library, buried in books desperately looking for a loophole to exploit and free herself, but was unsuccessful in her efforts.

McGonagall had informed the brunette the night before that she was going to be spending the morning of her wedding with her parents. They were to arrive at the castle at any moment and Hermione was anxiously pacing in front of the fireplace in the Headmistresses' office.

The door opened and admitted Malfoy, surprising her. "Are your parents coming to spend the morning with you as well?" She asked, trying for civil. The death glare she received in answer was completely unprovoked and unnecessary.

"My parents," he gritted out between tightly clenched teeth, "insist that I meet _your _parents. They think it will save them the... pleasure of meeting actual Muggles if they send me to them like some sort of sacrificial lamb."

"If you weren't a complete arse I'd almost feel bad for you." Hermione snipped. She had tried for polite and he'd just bitten her head off. It wasn't like she didn't have any stress from the entire arrangement, but at least she _tried _to behave nicely.

The flames in the fireplace suddenly flare up green and out stepped Hermione's Muggle parents. Malfoy refrained from doing anything overly cowardly though he did step closer to Hermione to make sure she was in between him and the 'scary' Muggles.

"Mum, Dad!" Hermione exclaimed, rushing towards the pair.

Her mother hugged her while Mr. Granger shot a nasty glare towards Draco. When Mrs. Granger finally released her, Hermione glanced over at the blond to find that her father was doing a good job of reinforcing Malfoy's fear of Muggles. His pale fingers were edging towards his wand as Hermione watched.

"Malfoy!" She snapped, watching with satisfaction when he jumped and looked slightly guilty. The Slytherin's hand stopped its progress but it didn't move away from the reassuring wood.

Mrs. Granger looked at the boy and back to her daughter before wrapping her arms around Hermione once again and burying her face in her daughter's shoulder. "I can't believe my baby's getting married!" She said is a sad voice.

Hermione patted her mum's back at looked helplessly at her dad, who could only offer her a helpless look in return.

"Boy!" Her father suddenly snapped, his voice a little too loud to be polite in the situation. Malfoy turned his hard gaze to the Muggle man, expecting an attack.

"Yes... Sir?"

Hermione was surprised that Malfoy had added the term of respect – even if it _had _been after a lengthy pause and obviously grudgingly.

Mr. Granger advanced on the blond, managing to intimidate him despite the fact that Malfoy was actually quite a bit taller and could be much more intimidating than the short dentist. Her father may have had a presence, but he'd never fought in the war like the two magical students in the room, so he had no idea what intimidating really was. Draco straightened his spine and moved towards his wand as he remembered that this Muggle had nothing on Voldemort.

"If I find out that you had anything to do with this sham of an engagement, I'll find you myself and remove every one of your teeth before-"

"Dad! Stop scaring him. The twitchy ferret's going to hex you if you get much closer." Hermione had been keeping a close eye on the other two while she tried to comfort her mother. Her parents were supposed to be there as a comfort to her, but they were only adding to her stress.

Draco resented being called a 'twitchy ferret', but the rest of the statement had been true, and he didn't want to risk antagonizing the Muggle man further. "Look... Grangers, you obviously love your daughter very much. I can't promise to love her... or even like her if we're being honest – which you have to understand is not something Slytherins do all that frequently. What I can promise you is that she'll never have to worry about money again, and, during the marriage ceremony, when I vow to do everything in my power to keep her safe and stay faithful to her, I'll be magically bound to uphold that vow."

The vice-like grip Mrs. Granger had on her daughter suddenly released as she darted across the room and latched onto the young Malfoy. Hermione was tempted to burst out laughing as his normally pale cheeks pinkened slightly and he held his arms out at his sides and tried to step out of the embrace.

McGonagall, probably worried that the former Death Eater had massacred the Muggles in the room, chose that moment to walk through the door followed closely by Draco's parents. All three newcomers froze upon seeing what was happening in front of them.

Hermione eventually relented and pulled her mum away from Malfoy. The fact that he'd forgotten his hatred of her for long enough to shoot her a pleading look had prodded her into helping the poor Pureblood. All the affection her Muggle parents were showing was probably overriding his poor, frozen Pureblood heart.

"Draco?" Lucius asked in a dangerous voice.

"Father." He answered in the same tone as he brushed off the front of his robes. Hermione rolled her eyes; it wasn't like her mum had contaminated him with her hug.

For the next several hours, a staring contest ensued between both sets of parents while their children sat off to the side, virtually ignored. Draco leant casually against the wall beside Granger, sensing she was the only one in the room who wouldn't snap at him if he moved too quickly. The frizzy-haired Gryffindor seemed to be experiencing some sort of shock.

Draco edged another slow step closer to the door, glancing around to make sure no one had broken their glaring contest to notice that he was _this _close to escaping the pressure in the room. Triumphantly, he finally grabbed hold of the doorknob and slipped into the freedom of the hallway. He leant against the wall beside the door and slid to the floor; without the overwhelmingly oppressive atmosphere of the room he'd escaped he had some time to _breathe_.

When the door quietly clicked open, his head snapped up and his startled eyes fell on Granger – the Granger he was about to marry, not one of the older two.

"What happened to vowing to 'keep me safe'?" She asked as she settled heavily beside him, careful to leave plenty space between their bodies – they may have been forced together, but that didn't mean they had to _touch._

"The vow doesn't apply until I take the thing." Draco said smugly. He wasn't about to stick his neck out for the know-it-all before he'd vowed to.

They sat in a silence only slightly more comfortable than the one they'd just escaped until McGonagall stuck her head out and told them it was time to go to the Wizarding chapel where their wedding was being held.

"I've never felt more like a prisoner going to her execution, even when I was about to go into battle." Hermione mumbled as she moved towards the door.

Draco looked at her, surprised that she could so accurately capture his feelings with her words describing her own. He could only silently nod his agreement as he followed behind her.


	3. The Wedding

**Chapter 2: The Wedding**

**A/N: Sorry about that peoples, I accidently uploaded the third chapter instead of the second one, this prologue thing is throwing me off. **

**Thanks for everyone who reviewed! And thanks to Harrypotterluver123 for betaing!**

**~Frosty**

Mrs. Malfoy had gone out and found a team of stylists to make Hermione beautiful. McGonagall led her to the room where she was to get ready, where the stylists were waiting like a pack of rabid wolverines to pounce on her. Both pairs of parents had gone to take their seats and wait for Draco and then Hermione to come down the aisle. They had a bit of a wait yet; the ceremony wasn't supposed to take place for another few hours.

Hermione's eyelids had closed the second the pack had descended upon her with frilly things and many different brushes. When the wolverines stopped poking, prodding and pulling at her, Hermione hesitantly opened her eyes again.

Glancing around the room in panic, Hermione realized that they'd left her alone. Was it normal for them to swarm, attack and then flee like that? Vaguely, she remembered that both the bride and the groom were supposed to be given some time alone before the wedding to mentally prepare themselves for what they were about to do or something like that.

Hermione took off the uncomfortable shoes she'd been wearing and, barefoot, quietly padded over to the door. A quick peek out into the hall revealed that there was no one out there actually making sure she was 'mentally preparing' or whatever it was she was supposed to be doing.

She wandered to the door across the hall and slipped inside the room, making sure to shut the door firmly behind her. Fleeing wasn't an option, but she wanted some time alone without the risk of someone finding her, just for a while.

"What're you doing here Granger? We're supposed to be... something something. I don't really remember, but it's supposed to happen alone." Malfoy was sitting on the only piece of furniture in the room, a fainting couch. He looked a little pale, but unless he was much better at hiding his inner turmoil than Hermione had ever given him credit for, the man wasn't the anxious bundle of angry she'd thought he'd be.

"How come you're not riling against the injustice of having to marry someone you don't _like _much less love?" She asked as she moved across the room to stand in front of him.

His grey eyes looked her up and down coolly, taking in her wedding robes and elaborately styled hair with something akin to approval before settling on her face. "You didn't notice that there's no love mentioned in the traditional magic marriage vows? For Purebloods, love is one of the few luxuries we're not guaranteed."

Without warning, he leant forward until the top of his head was nearly touching her stomach as he searched for something under his seat. Triumphantly, he sat up straight again holding a bottle of Firewhiskey.

Hermione sat beside him on the fainting couch. "How are we going to manage a wedding Malfoy?"

"One day at a time with ample amounts of Firewhiskey." He took a large mouthful from the bottle, causing Hermione to frown at him. "You should probably stop calling me 'Malfoy',_you're_going to be a Malfoy in a few hours." He added, just to redirect her attention before she could scold him about the alcohol.

Hermione paled and leant heavily against the arm of the couch. She was going to be a _Malfoy_, part of the family the represented almost everything she'd stood against. It was sickening.

The bottle of alcohol sloshed as Malfoy thrust it under her nose. "Take a drink and calm down a bit Gra- Hermione, I don't want you throwing up on me when we're standing in front of all those people."

Reluctantly, Hermione took a gulp. She flinched a little at the taste and the burning sensation as it worked its way down her throat to her stomach. Malfoy watched her intently for a few moments as she shifted uncomfortably, unused to the close proximity with someone who hated her.

"Better?" Draco asked when he saw that she didn't look quite so green.

Hermione nodded and breathed a huge, shaky breath. "I probably won't throw up on you now." Once the immediate threat of vomiting was done away with, she was free to panic about what would happen to the in the very near future.

"Draco..." She paused to appreciate how strange it was to be saying his first name. "We're actually getting married. The kind of marriage that never goes away, as in, we're always going to be together."

The blonde groaned and covered his eyes. "Let's just get the marriage part over with and then deal with the rest of our lives after. You're not helping me to stay calm and we both need to be conscious to say the vows, so try not to pass out."

"But-" She stopped when he held up a hand to silence her.

"For once in your life, don't ask any questions. Just paste a fake smile on your face, or at least a blank look that hides how miserable and nervous you are-" she opened her mouth to protest, but he just continued. "Don't think for a second the constipated look you've had on your face for the last week has been fooling anyone, much less a room of Slytherins. You're going to paste a fake smile on your face and walk down the aisle, and then we can go back to school and write our NEWTS like this whole mess never happened."

"Minus your whoring around." Hermione piped up, feeling comfortable enough to tease him now. It was strange that he could bring her down from the brink of panic with almost no effort on his part.

Draco was indignant. "A healthy interest in the opposite sex isn't 'whoring around' I'm merely exploring my options."

"Well after today, I _am _your options; I'm pretty sure there's a fidelity section to our vows."

His heavy sigh drew her attention away from the space on the wall she'd been focusing on and back to the blonde beside her. Hermione glanced at him out of the corner of her eyes to see that he was looking despondent.

Hermione was kind-hearted towards all living creatures –provided they weren't hell-bent on exterminating her friends. She was unable to ignore distress in others, even when it was Mal-Draco. "What's wrong?" She asked him quietly.

When he turned to face her, Hermione was surprised by the intense look in his startlingly grey eyes. "Don't hit me, I have to try something." He said in a low, calm voice. The type of voice people use to keep a distressed animal from lashing out.

Hermione tensed, ready for whatever he was about to do that he thought was going to make her want to throttle him. The brunette discovered that she was only ready for _almost _anything when he leant closer and pressed his lips against hers.

His hands came up to either side of her face while she was still frozen in shock to keep her where she was. For someone with such a prickly personality, Draco Malfoy had remarkably soft lips. She was just starting to enjoy his ministrations and respond when he pulled her face back and looked at her intently once again.

There must have been something in her eyes that he'd been looking for, because he leaned closer to her and kissed her again, this time dropping her face and using his strong arms to pull her closer.

Hermione briefly wondered what she was getting herself into before deciding that this was the man she was going to marry, and though she didn't love him -or even like him most of the time- she did enjoy kissing him.

They jumped apart like a pair of children caught with their hands in the cookie jar when the sound of voices yelling for Hermione filtered through the door.

"You should probably go before they think you're running from your own wedding," Draco mumbled, not making eye contact.

Blushing, Hermione looked away. "I'll see you at the end of the aisle," she mumbled before taking one last sip of Firewhiskey and slipping out the door. Wonderful, now her forced wedding was going to be even more awkward because the groom had gone and kissed her before he was supposed to!

Draco listened to the exclamations and protests coming from her mother as well as his when they caught sight of the bushy-haired brunette. Apparently they'd thought that the Gryffindor was going to be a coward and flee even though it would have been the death of them both.

He buried his face in his hands and tried to sort out the swirling chaos into which his thoughts had been plunged. When he'd kissed her, he had just been seeing if there was at least a small spark there between them. If there was something there, it would banish the depressing thought that he was going to be forever bound to a woman he'd never want to touch.

Draco had surprised himself almost as much as Hermione when he kissed her again after pulling away. She wasn't supposed to let him do things like that, she was _supposed _to yell at him for daring to touch her and then slap him like she'd done in third year when he'd pushed her too far.

The door creaked open, making Draco snap his head up, hoping it wasn't Gran-Hermione coming back to lecture him or something. It was someone much worse than the Gryffindor he was to marry, it was his Father.

"Draco, it's time," Lucius said in the cool, unfeeling voice his son had also perfected.

The younger man silently stood up, smoothed out his robes nervously and followed his father from the room. There had probably been walks to the executioner more cheerful than the short walk Draco was about to take.

* * *

Hermione was panicking, not only was she about to get married at eighteen –_eighteen!-_but she had _kissed _the groom. Willingly! She'd enjoyed it too, but would never admit it, even under torture.

It was just a kiss! Hell, to him a kiss was probably the equivalent of a smile. Well, maybe not a smile since he never seemed to do anything but smirk... He kissed more than he smiled! What kind of person _did _that?

The brunette groaned and buried her face in her hands in an unconscious imitation of Draco's gesture. She felt the warm weight of her mum's hand on her shoulder.

"Don't worry honey, everything happens for a reason." The Muggle woman soothed.

Hermione was tempted to start screaming that sometimes things just happened that had nothing to do with reason. Many _many _things happened without a meaning any deeper than pure coincidence and Hermione refused to believe that some higher power had a plan for her.

Narcissa cleared her throat. "It's time to walk down the aisle."

The mothers took their seats, leaving Hermione to walk towards the groom alone. They had opted for a traditional Wizard wedding, meaning there was no wedding party, only the groom and the bride.

Walking down the aisle, Hermione focused on putting one foot in front of the other so she didn't trip over the dress or the ridiculous shoes she was wearing. Instead of a sea of happy faces watching her, the audience seemed to be either sympathetic, pitying, or disapproving – some were a combination of the three. Discouraged by the people she was passing, she turned her attention to the person she was walking towards.

Malfoy was looking towards her with a completely blank expression that he had often hidden behind in the past. She strove to emulate the look as she approached.

After what felt like an eternity, she finally reached the front of the room and stood nervously beside Draco. Hermione looked up with scared eyes into his equally scared grey orbs. It was kind of comforting to know that despite his best efforts to hide it, Ma–Draco was no better off than she was. They were both going into their marriage completely unprepared.

It was almost a relief when it came time in the ceremony for Hermione to grab hold of Draco's hand. Her whole body was shaking like a leaf at the enormity of what she was about to do. Dating had always been something she'd told herself there would be time for _later_, always later. After the Triwizard Tournament, after Harry was less catatonic about Sirius' death, after the war was finished – she'd thought she had _years _to find someone, now there was no 'later', it was always going to be Malfoy.

A squeeze on her hand made her snap open her eyes – she hadn't even realized that they'd been closed. Malfoy was giving her a look that was almost sympathetic. He was the one in the best position to know how she was feeling about the whole mess, after all. Hermione gave him a small, shaky smile as thanks for the comfort he offered.

The minister looked around the room before speaking. He didn't bother with a speech endorsing love and commitment since there was no love and the vow rendered adultery impossible.

"Do you, Draco Lucius Malfoy, swear to protect and support this woman for as long as you both shall live?"

Draco nodded, doing his best not to look at the sea of people watching his every move. "I do." A band of light surrounded his wrist, just like the one that would appear for an unbreakable vow.

"Do you vow to stay faithful to her from now until your death?"

Cringing a little at how morbid that sounded, Draco nodded again. "I do." The second band that wrapped around his wrist felt like it was constricting his breathing while it gently slithered across his flesh. He knew the panic was the cause of the tightness in his lungs, so he crushed it as brutally as he knew how. He had to stay calm and strong - the breakdown could come later when he allowed the reality to really set in.

"Do you vow to bring her into your family as a partner, and treat her as an equal in all you do?"

Hermione started at the last vow, it didn't seem like something traditional. The surprise on Draco's face indicated that he was surprised by the vow as well. He nodded anyway though. "I do," he said solemnly.

The minister turned to Hermione and administered the same vows. She knew they would later sign the marriage certificate that would bind them to several more stipulations, but that would come after the initial binding and could wait until they were ready to deal with it as the time limit was only on their actual marriage.

She agreed without hesitation when she was asked for her word and watched as the circles of light wound around her wrist. When she finished her last 'I do', there was a bright flash and then the light soaked into their skin and disappeared.

"You may now kiss the bride," the minister said in his droning, serious voice.

Hermione had actually forgotten about that part of the ceremony. If she hadn't recently discovered that kissing Malfoy wasn't as horrible as she's thought it would be, the mere notion of kissing him would have terrified her. As it was, she was only mildly horrified that they were going to have to kiss in front of all those people...

Sensing he was going to have to make the first move, Draco leant forwards and covered her mouth with his. The kiss was a chaste little press of lips that barely lasted two seconds. Hermione was too nervous in front of all those people to think of anything but how mortifying her position was. She just knew that her cheeks were stained red when Malfoy pulled away.

"I present to you Mr. and Mrs. Malfoy."

They turned to face the crowd and gave weak, slightly queasy smiles. Hermione didn't even realize she was still clutching Draco's hand until she noticed the venomous look Ron was shooting in the direction of their clasped fingers.

Dropping his hand immediately, Hermione stalked back down the aisle. She only stopped when she was in front of Professor McGonagall, who was sitting near the back of the room.

"Can I we go back to school now?" Hermione asked. "I have to study for my NEWTS." It wasn't really her grades that were bothering her, but it was the best excuse she could think of. There was no sense in lingering in the chapel, and there wasn't going to be a reception or anything of the sort.

The aging professor nodded her head sharply and cleared her throat authoritatively. "If all Hogwarts students would gather in the next room, we're going to return to the school now."

Hermione glanced over her shoulder to find that Draco had followed her and seemed just as eager to leave the chapel as she was. He stepped up a little too close behind her and murmured, "We'll deal with the rest of forever when school ends. Let's just try for a few more weeks of normalcy."

Grateful, Hermione smiled at him and nodded eagerly. She'd give anything to pretend the whole mess had never happened. A few more week of normalcy seemed like a gift. Little did they know that nothing could ever be 'normal' for either of them again.


	4. And So Begins the 'Blissful' Matrimony

**Chapter 3: And So Begins the 'Blissful' Matrimony**

**A/N: Hello readers! A huge thank you to Harrypotterluver123 for betaing despite an illness! Also thank you to everyone who reviewed, favourited, etc! Your feedback is what makes fanfiction so much fun!**

**For the very few of you who think this chapter is oddly familiar, I accidentally posted it as chapter 2 for a few minutes. Of you go back on everything should make sense again.  
**

**~Frosty**

Hermione stepped back into Hogwarts and took a deep, calming breath, letting the soothing atmosphere of the school where she'd always felt at home calm her. She took a big step away from the fireplace she'd used to Floo into the headmistress's office, not wanting to be trampled by the string of people who were sure to exit behind her.

Her step didn't come quite fast enough; Goyle and then Crabbe exited the flames and then landed on top of her much smaller form. All the air was squished from her lungs and no matter how much she wiggled, the goons weren't moving.

"Get... off," she managed to gasp out with the little breath she had.

Crabbe finally managed to extract himself from Goyle, but Hermione was still firmly pressed between the remaining goon and the floor when Draco stepped out of the fire. Her eyes widened when she felt a meaty hand drag up her thigh. He wasn't unable to get off her, he was using the excuse to feel her up! A shudder of revulsion worked its way up her spine, making her feel a little nauseous. Hermione wiggled with a renewed vigour, but it wasn't effective against the sheer bulk holding her to the floor.

Draco's eyes narrowed when he saw what his minion was doing to his... wife. Merlin, he had a _wife_. _That _was going to take some adjustment.

A quick flick of his wand had the moron with a death-wish flying off of Hermione and smashing against a wall. The blonde watched with satisfaction as Goyle hit the floor.

When Hermione was free of all the weight that had been crushing her, she stayed on the floor for a minute to regain her breath. Hands grabbed her under her arms and pulled the dishevelled brunette to her feet.

Draco dipped his head so he could see her face. "No lasting damage?" He asked, trying to sound like he didn't really care either way.

Hermione was surprised by his concern. "I'm fine thanks. I thought we were going to have a few more weeks of the normalcy of fighting before all hell breaks loose and we give this 'married' thing a shot?"

His grey eyes widened slightly before they narrowed with barely suppressed amusement. "Right. Umm... Get out of my sight you bloody Gryffindor."

Hermione chuckled at the pathetic attempt. "Draco, I don't want you pretending to get along with me because we made a few vows. The entirety of our relationship since its beginning has been fighting, I don't see why we should stop. We just have more of a reason to make up now."

"Thank Merlin," Draco muttered, looking much more relieved than he intended. "Well then, you're contaminating me with your impure presence, etcetera, etcetera." He waved his hand dismissively and left the room after grabbing the collars of both his goons. Hermione could hear them complaining as they were dragged all the way down the hall. She chuckled a little and rolled her eyes at their antics, but vowed not to forget what Goyle had done.

Harry, Ron, and then Ginny were the next ones out of the fire. "Are you all right?" Harry asked anxiously, looking her up and down. He'd been worried since Malfoy's goons and then Malfoy himself had shoved him out of the way to get into the fire first.

"I'm a little squished, but otherwise fine." Hermione assured.

Ron shouldered past her and stormed from the room as Hermione watched him leave sadly. They'd been so close and now he wouldn't even _look _at her, much less speak to her.

"Ignore him," Ginny soothed. "Do you need me to hex Malfoy?" She asked, watching her friend intently. It seemed like more had happened before they'd Flooed into the room than the brunette was letting on.

"No, he's actually being all right. We've agreed that we're going to pretend the wedding never happened until school's over."

The disapproving look on the redhead's face clearly said that she thought something about Hermione's plan was off.

"What?" Hermione sighed as they wandered through corridors towards the Gryffindor common room. She knew Ginny was going to explain why she considered the plan wrong, but it was best to get it out of her right away before she had time to add more points to her argument.

"Don't you think it might be best to maybe... date or something while you're still in school so when you move in together after you graduate you at least know one another?"

If Harry's eyes widened any further, Hermione was pretty sure they'd be in danger of falling out of his head. "Ginny, how could you suggest that Hermione spend more time with Malfoy than she absolutely has to?" He demanded.

"Because I'm an adult! I know that those two are going to be stuck together for a very long time and they need a solid foundation for a healthy relationship."

Harry turned on the redhead and they started a heated argument about what they thought was best for their friend. Rolling her eyes at how they completely ignored her, Hermione continued her earlier path to the Gryffindor tower.

* * *

Draco got the surprise of his life when he returned to his room. Waiting on his bed was his best friend Blaise Zabini.

"Zabini, what are you doing here?" Draco demanded, not sure whether to be irritated or pleased that his friend was back.

"I have a better question for you, Draco my friend: how is it that you got married and I wasn't even invited? I flee to Italy for a year while you all fight a war over here and when I get back the world is upside down because you've married a Muggleborn!" Blaise threw his hands in the air dramatically.

"Stop being an overdramatic poof." The blond snapped. He moved over to his bed and flopped on his back beside his friend. "I'm married." He said in an empty voice, it was just starting to really hit him.

Blaise gave him a sympathetic look. "If it had been Pansy, I would have been worried that you were going to end up miserable and depressed before the first year was over, but it's Granger you married, so you'll be fine."

"What the hell do you mean? We're going to bloody kill each other!" Draco said, unable to think of any reason for the obviously insane Italian to think that his marriage was going to be anything but frightening and damaging for all involved.

"Admit it mate, you've fancied your little wifey for years, she's the only female who really stands up to you and you love that."

Draco chose not to dignify his friend's idiocy with a response. He just smacked the obviously unstable moron upside the head. They sat together in a companionable silence that Draco couldn't quite manage with Crabbe and Goyle - their silence was always more like they were waiting for an order.

"Where're you two going to live?" Blaise suddenly piped up.

Draco looked at his friend like he was insane. "We're going to live at the Manor," he said like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"Draco... I don't think Granger's going to just agree to that. From what I've heard, she doesn't have the best memories of the place. Is your father even going to let her live there? She'd be the first Muggleborn to live there since... ever."

The blonde stared vacantly while he rapidly processed what he'd just heard. "Granger's going to kill me if she finds out I was planning on 'forcing' her to live at the Manor without even asking her first, isn't she?"

Blaise patted his friend on the shoulder. "You're learning. You may survive married life after all."

Draco grudgingly got up from the bed and moved over to his desk so he could write her a note.

It wasn't that Draco planned on going out of his way to make Hermione happy, but he was a big fan of getting what he wanted. He knew he was more likely to get what he wanted if Granger thought it was her idea. The Malfoy heir rejoined his friend after sending the letter off and waited smugly for the response, which was sure to be interesting.

* * *

Shifting her mop of curly hair out of her eyes as she walked, Hermione noticed that an owl was flying towards her. She grabbed the letter as the owl dropped it at her head, wondering who in the world had managed to get the owl to deliver the letter in the corridors, somewhere owls were expressly forbidden.

The scrawl seemed familiar, so she scanned down to the bottom of the letter to find the signature. Even though there wasn't any identifying name, she had a pretty good idea who had sent the thing, its content only made her sure.

_Before you get all uptight about me breaking our agreement to pretend we aren't... that-thing-we-are until the year's done, let me just ask you: where are we going to live after school? I was assuming the Manor, but it's never safe to assume anything with you. See? I'm giving you an opinion and whatnot, so don't go all uptight and swotty on me for leaving you out of decisions._

Lovely, he does something almost considerate, and completely ruined it by being a prat. She wasn't about to have the argument that was sure to follow his lovely greeting on paper, so she stormed off in the direction of the Slytherin dorms.

Hermione was furious. Malfoy was just so... so- she stopped her internal rant to see Crabbe and Goyle standing outside the wall where Hermione knew the entrance to the Slytherin dorms was concealed. They were sporting a pig's nose and donkey ears respectively. Apparently they hadn't learned their lesson the first time. A Cheshire smile spread across her face as an evil idea occurred to her.

"I need to see Malfoy," she told them authoritatively. When they ignored her, she waved her wand at the two huge Slytherins. Her smile widened as she took in the result of her spell work. That'd teach them for squishing her. Goyle was now fully an ass and Crabbe a pig.

Frowning, Hermione thoughtfully tapped her wand against her chin. Goyle had tried to feel her up while he'd had her trapped, she was going to have to find something _special _for him. Another swish of the magical stick and only Crabbe was left in the corridor.

"Now," she said with a sweet smile, "you're going to let me into the Slytherin dorms or you're going to end up alongside Goyle giving out pony rides at a carnival as a full-fledges ass."

Crabbe's piggy eyes widened in horror and he quickly whispered the password and stood out of the Gryffindor's way. A Slytherin worthy smirk spread across Hermione's face as she entered the den of the snakes; who needed Polyjuice potion just to gain entrance into the room?

A scared little first year saw her smirk and paled in fright, which told Hermione that he'd be more than willing to direct her to wherever Malfoy was currently lurking. He shakily pointed towards the room where the seventh year boys were housed.

The Gryffindor ignored the strange looks she was receiving from the Slytherins and burst into the boy's room.

"Malfoy, what the hell is- Zabini?" She was briefly thrown off her rant by the presence of a boy she knew had fled the war.

"The one and only, Granger – or should I say Malfoy?"

The mention of her new last name snapped Hermione back onto the track she'd been on before she'd noticed Zabini's presence in the room.

"Malfoy! What the hell is _wrong _with you to make you think that I'd want to live in your huge Manor run with _slaves_?" She demanded crinkling up his note and throwing it at his head.

Draco calmly leaned to the side so that the ball of paper missed him. "How're you going to implement your plan to free them all without being there?" He asked calmly, internally preening over the impressed look Blaise shot him.

The brunette's angry comments froze on her tongue as she thought about what Draco had said. She was well aware that it was a flimsy attempt at manipulation considering he was a Slytherin and supposed to be good at that sort of thing, but he was _right, _damn it!

Narrowing her eyes dangerously, she tried to burn holes in the blonde head of the git she'd married. "Don't think I can't see right through your pathetic attempt to get your way." She snapped.

Draco merely raised a mocking eyebrow. "Are you saying my pathetic attempt didn't work?"

Hermione let out a frustrated scream. He was just so smug!

"I'm going to free all your elves!" She said, before turning and leaving.

"How could anyone fancy _that_?" Draco asked as Hermione slammed the door.

Blaise shrugged. "I've been asking myself that since I first realized that you did." Blaise paused and looked his friend up and down. "You do know that what you just did has a huge possibility of backfiring spectacularly?"

"It'll be three against one at the Manor, and the elves would never listen to her. I'm sure everything will be fine." He was glad he sounded much more sure than he was; that Gryffindor had a tendency of getting her way.

* * *

Hermione was stressed. Sure the wedding was over, but she was studying for her final exams of Hogwarts, the results of which any potential employer would be reviewing before they hired her. On top of that, she had moving in Malfoy Manor to look forward to after the exams were over and a marriage that was as doomed as it was permanent. All of this added up to one foul mood, so when Ron decided to make his disapproval about her situation known, Hermione wasn't feeling generous enough towards him to take his little temper tantrum.

It started out innocently enough; Malfoy had a question to ask her after class the day before their big exams. Every second that wasn't spent studying was _sure _to significantly lower Hermione's mark.

"Have you seen Goyle? Crabbe's been acting off since his counterpart disappeared, he said you would know where to find him since it was you who made him disappear." The Slytherin rolled his eyes. "Oh, and I'm not to tell you that Crabbe was the one who told me this."

Hermione actually blushed. She'd completely forgotten about the goon. He was a lecherous creep but he didn't deserve to be stuck where she'd sent him and then forgotten about. Fishing around in her book-bag, Hermione found a flyer and handed it to the waiting blonde.

"Why would I want a 'pony ride'? That's not even a pony, that's an ass." He sneered.

"He is an ass, he's also your friend for some reason." Hermione said. "The address is on the flyer, I'm sure someone can retrieve him." She _really _needed to get back to her studying.

"What's Goyle doing renting himself out for Muggle children's birthday parties?"

"He's not renting _himself _out, I sent him there... and then I kind of forgot about him." Hermione said defensively.

The pair's interactions were still getting some odd looks, but their fellow Hogwarts students had ample time to deal with their marriage, and so the gossip had lessened.

Ron chose that moment to come out of the classroom. The freckly redhead froze upon seeing Hermione and Draco within arm's length of each other and not hexing.

"Malfoy," Ron sneered, looking at the blond. He then turned his eyes to his former friend. "Malfoy," he said again in the same hateful tone. Hermione felt a little stab of pain that he was showing such hostility towards her, but she shook her head and let the insult drop.

It wasn't like she'd gone out and actively dated the blonde Slytherin to spite Ron or something. Sure she couldn't go along with what the redhead had planned for them, but it really wasn't her fault, and she didn't see how he could justify taking it out on her.

Hermione may have been able to let slide the insult implied by Ron's tone, but Draco wasn't about to.

"You don't have to be so bitter just because she's traded up Weasley. Aren't you Gryffindors supposed to be big on the self-sacrifice thing? Think of it like this: now she'll never have to live in the poverty you're not doubt going to bring upon your family. I mean, I know they're already practically living in squalor now, but I have a feeling that you're going to take it to new levels once you're out of school."

By the time Draco was finished with his little tirade, Ron was beyond red, verging on purple.

In the past, Hermione would have been the one to bring the redhead out of his blind rage, but at the moment, she sensed that any attempt on her part to get him to see reason again would be met with very poor results. She opted to stay silent and watch how Ron handled Draco's insults.

Predictably, the short-tempered Gryffindor launched himself at the Slytherin. Hermione watched them roll around on the floor for a moment, trying to decide if Malfoy was winning. Just like Draco, she had sworn to protect her spouse, but 'to protect' was very vague and left a lot of room for interpretation. She felt that as long as Draco was winning, he really didn't need any protection - and even if he was losing, she suspected her assistance would be unwelcome.

Ron grunted as Draco managed to sink his fist into the Gryffindor's stomach. The punch seemed to be hard enough and well placed, as it knocked the breath right out of the redhead. Hermione's vindictive side told her that Ron deserved it, but the rest of her riled against standing there and doing nothing while her friend was getting hurt.

She took out her wand and separated the pair, sticking them to either side of the hallway and stepping in between them. Ron stayed pinned because his temper was still obviously in control of his actions, but Draco was very much in control of himself, so Hermione let him down. She was pleased that he was smart –or just devious- enough to not enrage the redhead further by moving away from the wall, he acted as if he was still stuck there.

The brunette watched impassively as Ron continued to struggle. When he'd tired himself out, she released the simple sticking charm keeping him there. His lanky figure fell to the floor without the support of the spell holding him up, making a small thump when he hit the stone.

"I thought you loved me," she said sadly to the prone form of the redhead. When he didn't answer, she sighed and turned her back on the both of them; walking back to her rooms where there were no boys to depress her.

"I was cheating on you with Lavender for six months," he called after her, making her flinch almost imperceptibly.

A sound from behind her made her suspect that Draco had kicked Ron, but she wasn't about to stop him – the heartless bastard deserved it.

**A/N 2: No students were harmed in the making of this chapter... Well, Ron was, but no one really cares (I hope).**


	5. Intruder!

**Chapter 4: Intruder!**

**A/N:Ah, you guys are great! It's so much fun to hate Ron, so I've made it easy. Hooray! I'm glad that a lot of you seem just as enthusiastic about Ron-bashing as I am... Though, as far as I can remember (and my memory's not all that reliable right now, as it's not even 7am yet – yuck) there's not much more after this chapter.**

**Thanks to everyone who reviewed, and a huge thanks to Harrypotterluver123 for betaing! Okay, on with the chapter.**

**~Frosty**

Despite the confidence that everyone she knew seemed to have in her, Hermione wasn't sure that she'd done as well as she could have on her final exams. She was _never _sure if she'd done as well as she could have when it came to schoolwork, despite her high grades.

The Potions exam was the last on the long and gruelling schedule, and Hermione exited the room glad she was finally free of the class.

"Am I ever glad that's over," Harry groaned as he stretched his arms over his head, trying to pop the kinks out of his spine.

Hermione glanced over at her friend, he _did _look a little green... It was probably best that he'd never have to sit for one of Snape's examinations again.

Ron, on Harry's other side, had been pointedly ignoring Hermione since the incident with Draco in the corridor. "I don't think I passed," the redhead groaned, obviously hoping for sympathy.

Rolling her eyes, Hermione sped up her steps so she didn't have to listen to Ron whine about failing again. It was his fault that he did so poorly in school; he never studied and only occasionally got around to doing any of the homework!

A bright blonde head of hair in the crowd ahead of her caught Hermione's attention. Draco was joking with Blaise, the pair of them flanked by the two goons that were Draco's permanent shadow inside the halls of Hogwarts. She wasn't sure how she felt about the reappearance of Goyle. As long as he didn't come near her with his touchy-feely hands, she didn't really care what happened to him.

Suddenly, Draco's grey eyes wandered from his friend to scan over the crowd. When they met Hermione's dark orbs, he subtly gestured to an empty corridor with a tilt of his head before turning abruptly and heading that way himself.

Hermione tilted her head slightly as she tried to figure out what it was he could possibly want. They were leaving in the morning for the Manor, so she wasn't sure what it was he had to tell her that couldn't wait less than twenty-four hours. Deciding it was best that she find out now and avoid any nasty surprises later, Hermione followed him.

She raised her eyebrows in question when she caught up to him in the vacant hallway.

"The damn vow seems to think not warning you to be careful around my parents would be the same as putting you in danger." He looked much less tense once he'd said what the magic had obviously been prodding him to share.

"I suppose they don't have any qualms about making me disappear so they can find you a more 'appropriate' wife?"

He nodded. "After an acceptable amount of time of course. They want to be able to benefit from the status boost your fame as a war-hero would bring to the family without risking the 'pollution' of the bloodline."

Though it happened all the time, Hermione would never get used to being treated as inferior for something she couldn't help. She felt a little twinge of pain because she knew it would take a lot for her in-laws to accept her – if they ever would. Just because her parents were Muggles didn't make her lesser than them!

Surprisingly, while his parents were opposed to her existence, Draco seemed to see Hermione as a person instead of something inferior. He was insulting, but that seemed to just be his personality and his natural hatred of Gryffindors, his occasional hostility didn't seem to have much to do with her blood.

"Well... Thanks – I think." She said awkwardly.

She was turning to leave when his hand shot out and grabbed her elbow.

"Wait, there's something else I have to tell you..." He said, looking like he'd rather be anywhere else at the moment.

She waited patiently, looking at him with an expectant expression. If he looked _that _uncomfortable about what he was going to say, then it was very likely that it was going to be something helpful.

"Well aren't you two just getting all cozy." They both looked towards the end of the corridor where Ron was standing, wand drawn.

"Not again," Draco muttered. For once, Hermione was in complete agreement with him.

"I'm not here to fight. I'm here to tell you I proposed to Lavender and she's accepted." Ron said.

Hermione and Draco shared a glance. Was he really willing to marry the slag just because he was hurt that she had –unwillingly- married someone else?

"Congratulations?" Hermione tried, hoping it would make him leave them alone. The redhead nodded, looking smug, before he walked away.

Draco watched him go wearily. "You really dodged an Avada getting out of marrying that one," he said.

The blonde was more irritated with the Weasel than he may have otherwise been because Draco was in the process of telling Hermione something important when they'd been interrupted. Well... not important really, but he'd been on the verge of asking if she was going to feel comfortable living in the Manor with her bad memories of it. The Weasel's interruption had completely ruined the moment.

Nodding in agreement, Hermione pulled her arm out of his grasp. It seemed that he'd forgotten he'd had a hold of her while he glared after Ron with a glazed look in his eyes.

"I'll see you tomorrow on the platform." She sighed, not looking forward to it at all.

When she got back to the common room, Hermione plopped down into a cushy chair near the sofa Ginny and Harry were occupying, his feet resting in her lap. "Did you two know that Ron's engaged?" She asked.

Ginny jumped up so fast that Harry almost fell onto the floor. "He's WHAT?"

"He just hunted me down, pulled his wand and then told me he was going to marry Lavender."

"Is she pregnant?" Harry asked.

"I can't see any other reason he'd want to marry her," Hermione said, in complete agreement with her friend's confusion.

"Mum's going to _kill _him is she finds out Lavender's knocked up," Ginny added, looking like she was kind of excited about her brother's imminent death.

Hermione was an only child, so she was unable to understand the sibling rivalry thing. Ginny's ferocious take on it was mildly worrying though.

The redhead noticed the concerned frown Hermione was sporting and misinterpreted the cause.

"Are you worried about moving to Malfoy Manor tomorrow Hermione?" She asked.

A large sigh escaped Hermione's lips at her friend's inquiry. "When Ron found me, Draco was warning me that the vow was pressuring him to tell me that his parents could be a danger to me."

Ginny snorted. "I could have told you _that_."

Prodding his girlfriend with a finger, Harry looked worriedly at Hermione. "Are you going to be all right?"

"I should be fine – for a while anyway. It would look suspicious if I were to just disappear right after moving in with them."

Harry sighed. He didn't like putting his friends in danger like that. "Just... be careful Hermione. Now that we're finished with Hogwarts, I can't be there to keep an eye on Malfoy and make sure he doesn't do anything dangerous."

It was Hermione's turn to sigh. They hadn't even left the school yet and Harry was already worried about her. He'd already saved the entire Wizarding world, one would think his worries were over, that he deserved a break, but Harry wouldn't allow himself one. The man was going to end up with an ulcer before he was twenty.

"Don't worry Harry, I'm sure I'll be fine," the brunette soothed, hoping to Merlin that she wasn't lying to her friend.

* * *

The train ride was more sombre than it had been in times past, particularly for Hermione. Her parents weren't waiting for her like she'd become used to in the lower years. And she was never going back to the castle she'd called home for seven years.

Her friends hugged her goodbye while she waited on the platform for Draco to appear. He'd been sitting on the train with his Slytherin friends so she'd assumed that he'd been saying goodbye to his mates as well... in a distant, Slytherin way with few kind words and little physical contact.

She glanced around the platform, not wanting to face his parents before he was there with her to act as a buffer – not that she was being a coward, she was just being safe.

"My parents aren't going to be showing up if that's who you're looking for."

She whipped around, startled. "How'd you get behind me?"

He raised an eyebrow at her stupid question. Obviously, he'd walked.

"Let's just get out of here," she sighed.

Draco offered her his elbow so he could Side-Along Apparate her to the Manor.

"Why don't your parents come get you?" She asked, grabbing his offered arm and looking up at his face as he stared resolutely forward.

"They have more important things to do."

The pull of Apparation prevented her from saying anything in response – probably exactly what he'd intended. No pity or sympathy was allowed to be felt towards Draco Malfoy, he was too proud.

The foyer where they appeared was just as dark and cold as Hermione remembered from her one and only trip into the Manor. She couldn't imagine the place ever exuding a welcoming feeling, but that could have been her personal experience shining through.

Draco pulled his arm out of her grasp, startling her – she hadn't realized she'd kept her hold on it while she'd been gawking.

Hermione took a deep breath to steady the foreboding feeling that was making her jittery. "Are your parents here somewhere?" She asked. If there was a danger of running into Lucius or Narcissa Malfoy, then she wanted to know.

"We're right here girl, so don't get it into your head to run off with the good silverware." Narcissa said frostily, appearing from a side corridor with her husband in tow.

Lucius cleared his throat. "Narcissa, she has access to Draco's Gringott's account as his wife, do you really think she's going to go after the silverware?" His attention shifted to his son. "Take her to the room we've prepared."

Draco led the way down a corridor opposite the one his parents occupied. "Welcome to Malfoy Manor," he said sarcastically, obviously sensing her distaste for the building and its inhabitants.

The halls gradually got less dark and cold. By the time they'd ascended a grand staircase, the place was practically inviting. Curious by nature, Hermione couldn't just let an explanation for something so strange about her new home slip through her fingers.

"Why does it change from creepy to almost inviting?"

She was following behind Draco as he led the way to their destination, so she had an excellent view of his shoulders as they tensed.

"The public parts of the house are meant to intimidate, but the private wings –this one is mine... _ours- _are more for comfort," he explained grudgingly, probably knowing that her questions weren't going to stop until she had her answer.

He opened a door near the end of the long hallway and peeked inside - presumably to make sure it was the right room. Hermione didn't blame him for having to double check when he had so many rooms in his house.

"Here's where you'll be staying," he said, turning to leave her there. "If you need anything, call for a House Elf." He paused briefly, probably regretting the reminder that there were elves at the Manor, before walking to the door beside hers and disappearing inside. She could only assume that was his bedchamber.

Hermione retreated into her room, wondering how in the word she was going to manage to keep her sanity while living there.

* * *

The Gryffindor was deeply asleep when a hand clamped down over her mouth. She mentally berated herself for not keeper her wand under her pillow as she pulled at the hand, desperately trying to free herself.

Another hand appeared and subdued her flailing when it pressed against her stomach and arms, pinning helplessly them at her sides. The restraining arm pulled her off the bed until she thumped onto the floor, her assailant crouching beside her.

"I'll take the hand off your mouth if you promise not to scream," he whispered.

Calmer now that she knew who had attacked her but still weary, Hermione nodded hesitantly.

"Why are you in my room in the _middle of the night_?"

Her eyes widened as a possible reason occurred to her. Breaking free of the restraining arm that he hadn't yet removed, Hermione scrambled away from him until her back hit her nightstand.

"What's wrong with y- I'm not here for _that_!" he hissed. When she didn't lose the scared look in her eyes he sighed. "When you live in the Manor for as long as I have, you develop an affinity for the wards. Something's broken through them."

Hermione reached behind her to snatch her wand off the end table before crawling closer to him. "Did you wake me up to escape or to help fight?"

He hesitated, looking torn. The choice between protecting his home and fleeing to ensure his own safety as well as hers was probably a tough decision for him. Hermione didn't care what people said about him, Draco Malfoy wasn't a coward; he was just more aware of the advantages and risks of his actions and better at deciding when it was a good idea to flee.

"I think we should get out of here, the Manor won't let them steal anything and they'll probably just get lost... whoever it is."

Hermione nodded, she'd had enough fighting to last a lifetime – though she would fight if she needed to defend herself. Escaping seemed like the best option, let the Aurors handle the intruder.

They didn't light their wands as they stood and crossed the room, Draco knew the way and unnecessary light would only alert the intruder to their presence long before sound would.

The moment they were in the corridor, Draco took off at a jog. Hermione's heart was beating rapidly as she tried to follow the light patch of his hair in front of her, but he was too fast.

When she stubbed her toe on a potted plant and somehow managed to sprawl on the unforgiving floor, Draco finally noticed that she wasn't right behind him. "It's a wonder you managed to survive the war," he muttered so quietly she could barely hear him.

"If we were fleeing in _my _childhood home, then _you'd _probably be the one falling over things," she hissed back, pulling herself up from the floor.

The blonde irritably muttered something else that she couldn't catch. When he reached out and grabbed her hand, she jumped a little, surprised by the contact.

"Just keep up," he grumbled.

A tug on her hand urged her forward. Hermione let him pull her through the dark halls. She tried to watch his back and keep an eye on the darkness surrounding them at the same time. The Manor was eerily silent save for their quick footfalls, rapid breaths and the pounding of their hearts.

Abruptly, Draco jerked Hermione to the side and through a hidden doorway, across an empty kitchen and then out another door into the night. The fresh, cool air of the night hit her across her face as they burst outside, soothing some of the panic she'd been feeling.

They didn't stop, just raced across the lawn until they'd crossed outside of the anti-Apparation wards, still joined at the hands. Draco Apparated them away as soon as they'd cleared the wards, not even glancing back to see if someone was following them.

"So nice of you to finally join us Draco." Lucius said coldly.

Hermione dropped his hand and took a step away from the Slytherin, putting some space between them under the weight of the disapproving stare of his parents.

"There're only two rooms, so she's going to have to sleep in yours." Narcissa added with a sniff of distaste.

Hermione ignored whatever Draco said in response, choosing to instead look around the room they were in. It appeared to be a small cabin. There were only four doors in the room, so she assumed that one went outside, one was the loo and the other two were the rooms. Lovely, she was stuck who knows where with the Malfoys, and it may have only been in name, but she was one of them. Would the nightmare never end?

"We're just going to stay here?" Hermione asked disbelievingly.

The older two Malfoys ignored her question and continued on as if she wasn't there. Draco glared at his parents. He knew the bushy-headed Gryffindor asked a lot of questions, but she was still his wife and he didn't like it when people mistreated things that were his - whether or not those 'things' would slap him for referring to them as 'his'.

"There's still some Death Eaters out there that aren't very happy with us. The procedure is to retreat to this location, which the Ministry's provided, until the Aurors show up to confirm that the house is safe." Draco responded to the ignored Gryffindor, knowing that her questions were only going to get worse if she didn't get some answers.

Lucius glared between the two, obviously finding his son's forthcoming information displeasing. "It's time we all retire." He announced. His hand moved to hover over the small of his wife's back as he guided her into one of the bedrooms.

"They never touch each other, not affectionately, not accidentally, nothing." Hermione said quietly as soon as the door shut behind them.

"Affection is weakness." Draco recited, having heard it all his life.

"We barely even tolerate each other's presence and we touch more than them." She insisted, watching him closely for a reaction.

It was with disappointment that she took in his completely unaffected expression and the careless shrug he gave her. It seemed that he didn't want to talk about his parents - which was probably a good thing, since she didn't really want to talk about them either. Hermione knew that Draco needed to talk to _someone _about his issues and she felt that she was probably his best option, so she'd offered.

It was then that Hermione decided that she was going to be the one who got the Malfoys to show a little warmth. All three of them could use a hug, but she didn't want to get hexed, so she was going to start small first.

"Don't look at me like that, I'm not a _cause_. You'll have more luck freeing the House Elves than whatever you're planning," Draco threatened, having seen the look she'd been directing his way.

Hermione reddened slightly, he'd guessed dead on what she was thinking. Shooting a quick look at the door to what she assumed was their bedroom; she fidgeted slightly and was forced to avert her eyes. She wasn't going to bring up sleeping until she knew that there were two beds in there.

Draco caught her look. "There's only one bed." He said, walking over to the door she'd glanced at and opening it reveal that he was telling the hope-crushing truth. It wasn't even a particularly _large _bed.

"I'm going to bed then," she announced, hoping he'd be a gentleman and sleep on the floor or something.

"I'm warning you now, I refuse to give you the bed; if you want to sleep in it, you're going to have to share," Draco warned as she walked past him into the room.


	6. Crookshanks and Cupcake

**Chapter 5: Crookshanks and Cupcake**

**A/N: As always, thanks to the wonderful harrypotterluver123 for betaing! Also, thanks to everyone who reviewed!**

**A thousand thanks to grnkrystle for showing me how to get the update to work!  
**

**~Frosty**

"Whatever," Hermione answered, refusing to admit sharing a bed with him was going to make for an uncomfortable night. She could only hope he would be just as uncomfortable as she expected to be.

"If you try anything..." She paused, unable to think up an adequate threat. Whatever it was she'd do it'd be hard to forget – most likely because the damage would be lasting and painful.

"Relax, I had ample opportunity earlier in your room when you were asleep, I didn't take it – didn't _want _to take it."

"If you'd tried anything, I would've hexed you within an inch of your life and then left you to the authorities." There, that was a slightly better threat.

Draco gave her a strange look. "You didn't know that... _that _would be perfectly within my rights as your husband?"

Hermione paled. "Really?"

He nodded.

"That's so archaic and-and... _wrong_!" She couldn't believe that there could still be laws like that in place in modern times – but then the magical world wasn't as progressive as the Muggle world in those things.

"For once, we're actually in agreement." Draco muttered. He pulled back the covers on the bed and crawled under, sliding over until there was room for Hermione as well.

The brunette hesitantly crawled in beside him and flipped the blankets up over the both of them. It was strange for her to be so close to someone she wasn't at least good friends with, and he seemed to feel the same, if the rigidness of his form next to her was any indication.

She lay there for what felt like hours of awkwardness before her eyelids even started to feel heavy. Draco had gradually relaxed and his breathing had evened out a while ago, so it wasn't like she was worried about falling asleep before him and not being able to fight off his wandering hands – not that she expected him to really have much of an interest. Or that she expected him to try anything; git or not, he was almost a gentleman... when he wasn't insulting her.

Sleep must have eventually found her, because the next thing she knew, she was taking huge, gasping breaths and trying to stem the tears that were running down her cheeks. Lovely, she'd been crying in her sleep.

It wasn't really surprising that her subconscious was forcing her to express her grief over recent events in her life. The relationship she'd had with Ron had exploded into tiny pieces while she'd watched, injuring the both of them as well as anyone too close to them. On top of that, she was married to someone she wasn't sure she could ever love – and she seriously doubted he'd even _think _of returning the feelings if she ever did fall. In her waking hours, she'd been repressing all these worries in order to get through the days.

A quick glance over at the Malfoy beside her revealed that he was still asleep, so she stopped trying to stem the tears and just let them fall into the pillow where her head rested.

"You better not be upset over the Weasel, he's not worth it," came the sleep-roughened voice of her bed partner.

She froze in surprise, a sob catching in her throat. "It's nothing, go back to sleep," she managed to say, right before that caught sob ripped its way out of her throat.

Draco looked at her trembling shoulders and at the fist she'd pressed against her mouth in an attempt to stifle the sound of her sobs. He sighed. The crazy woman just cared so _much _about people that it completely tore her up on the inside when she was least expecting it.

"I can't sleep if you keep making that racket," he pronounced, his speech reflecting none of the concern he actually felt – err, no. Didn't feel. _Didn't._

"Sorry," she said, her voice watery but her sobs slowing a little.

The girl beside him couldn't see it, but Draco's silver eyes rolled to the ceiling. Did she really feel like she had to apologise for being so upset that she couldn't contain her sobbing?

"Would you feel any better if I offered to murder the Weasel? I'm a Malfoy, we have ways of making it look like an accident." He tried, hoping that she'd go back to the person who wasn't afraid to yell at him when he was being a git. The person who he'd grown to harbour something akin to affection for.

Hermione rolled onto her other side so she was facing him. "Are you actually trying to make me feel better in your twisted Malfoy way?" She asked, her shock stopping her tears in a way that she hadn't been able to manage on her own.

"Never. I was merely asking because I'd like to continue sleeping."

Something about the tone of his voice made her think that he wasn't quite telling the truth. She was starting to learn that there might just be more to Draco than she'd ever allowed herself to think. Another sniffle was the only answer she gave him.

She was almost asleep again when something occurred to her. "Draco... what would have happened if we hadn't been interrupted?"

"Interrupted when?" He mumbled sleepily.

"Before the wedding..." She lost her courage and had to stop her pathetic attempt at an explanation.

"I was just... making sure we weren't completely incompatible," he muttered, almost too quiet for her to hear.

"What were your conclusions?"

Draco looked away from the spot on the ceiling he'd been focusing on and stared at the Gryffindor in confusion. Was she trying to ask if he would do it again? Or just if he'd enjoyed it?

"It... wasn't horrible. Now go to sleep."

Unsure what had even provoked her to ask the question, Hermione didn't know what she thought of his answer. She also wasn't sure of her opinions on the kiss itself. If anyone had told her that she wouldn't have slapped Draco for trying to kiss her, she would have thought they were insane. Now she wasn't even sure if she'd slap him should he tried again – she'd probably enjoy it... again. Yes, enjoy. It hadn't been the scarring experience she'd anticipated. In fact, doing it again sounded almost appealing.

Her eyes wandered to what little she could see of his lips in the little light coming into the room from the small window. His lips had been so soft and he was warm and it was tempting to just lean over slightly and... Roughly, Hermione pulled herself back to her side of the bed. She hadn't even realized that she'd leaned towards him slightly.

She darted a glance up to his eyes, but they were closed and his face seemed relaxed. Hopefully, he was asleep and hadn't even noticed how close she'd come to what was sure to be a monumental mistake.

With a sigh, Hermione rolled so that her back was to the confusing blonde beside her and closed her eyes, hoping sleep would find her faster this time around.

* * *

When Hermione woke up, she was alone in the bed. Pressing her palm to the place Malfoy had been, she found it wasn't warm; he hadn't been there for a while. The Gryffindor couldn't remember how fast she'd fallen asleep, but the night had left her with the vague memory of snuggling up to a warm body. Just the fact that the warm body hadn't pushed her away, instead had pulled her closer, told Hermione she had obviously been dreaming.

Before she even pulled back the covers, she had to take a moment to reassure herself that it was unlikely that one of the evil blonds were going to jump out and hex her. Sure they were trapped in a very small cottage together in the middle of nowhere, but there were bound to be Aurors showing up at some point in the day, so harming her would be too much of a risk on the part of the Malfoys.

Having used logic to banish the bulk of her worries, Hermione crept out of the bed and peeked around the room. The sight that met her weary eyes was one that she knew was going to stick with her for a long time; all three Malfoys were staring longingly at a basket of eggs.

"Umm, what are you doing?" She asked, opening the door all the way and approaching them wearily. Narcissa and Lucius glared stonily while Draco pointedly avoided eye contact.

"You! Muggle woman. Prepare these eggs." Lucius snapped, gesturing imperiously to the basket.

Hermione bristled at how he'd addressed her, but then she realized what he'd said and burst out laughing.

"So you three need me to cook for you?"

The glares from the older Malfoys continued, but Narcissa inclined her head slightly. They really didn't have any idea how to do something as simple as cook eggs without the help of their staff of elves.

"I'll help you, on one condition." She said, arms crossed and standing firm under the looks that would have withered a lesser person. When they didn't immediately voice their outrage that she dared demand something in return for the favour, she internally smiled, they were making progress.

"You stop calling me insulting things and start using my name. My _first _name, Hermione." She glanced at Draco to see what he thought of her proclamation and saw that his eyes were showing the amusement that the rest of his face didn't.

"_Hermione_," he started, making sure to emphasize that he could use her name, "I've been using your name for a while. Do I get breakfast while Mother and Father are deciding if the loss of pride is worth the gain of some food?"

She started laughing all over again, but nodded. All three watched her intently as she flitted around the kitchen, gathering the ingredients for scrambled eggs and toast.

Draco smirked at his parents when she sat a plate down in front of him and joined the other three at the table to eat her own eggs. Lucius and Narcissa were trying to glare holes in their son and his little wife, but didn't move to say Hermione's name in order to get some food of their own.

Lucius was just starting to look like he was going to cave in when there was a popping sound the interrupted him.

All four Malfoys looked over at the Auror that was standing in the middle of the room looking halfway between amused and angry as he held a large box. "We've found and contained the threat, it's safe to go back home now." He sat the box on the floor and Apparated away before they could ask questions.

Lucius stood and held up his arm to his wife. The blonde woman hesitated a moment before standing as well and placing a dainty hand on his outstretched arm. They disappeared with a small pop almost immediately.

Hermione snickered, causing Draco to give her a confused look. "Did you see the hesitation before she even touched his arm to side-along Apparate? It's a wonder you even _exist_." She explained.

He wrinkled his nose in disgust. "It was their duty to produce an heir whether they hate each other or not. Now _never _bring up my parent's sex life again."

The brunette wasn't listening to his warning; she had already hopped up from her chair and moved to investigate the mysterious box the Auror had left. "I wonder what's inside..." she mumbled as she poked it with her wand.

"Probably something dangerous and unpleasant, it's best you just avoid it," Draco warned. He nearly dropped his fork when the box emitted a sound that reminded him of a strange combination of a roaring waterfall and a very angry mountain lion.

Hermione seemed to be _encouraged _by the disturbing sound. She darted forward and had the box open before Draco even had a chance to berate her for not taking the danger seriously.

He had his wand out and ready to hex the streak of orange as it collided with her, but she caught sight the movement and yelled "STOP!" at the blonde.

Confused, Draco lowered his wand. The sound that the thing was emitting had changed into something similar to a 'chainsaw' – despite what people believed, he actually _did _retain some of what they'd taught him in Muggle studies.

"What the hell _is _that thing?" He demanded, still eyeing it wearily.

"This is Crookshanks," Hermione said fondly. The cat purred louder and butted its head against her chin when it heard its name.

Its evil green eyes dared Draco to come any closer and the blonde didn't want to risk accepting the challenge. "Your _cat_... monster is why we spent the night in this Ministry assigned hell-hole?"

Hermione glared at him for insulting her beloved put, but she nodded. "I tried to leave him with my parents, but it seems that he missed me too much and came to find me."

Crookshanks butted her head again, not liking that her attention wasn't focused completely on him anymore, particularly since he'd put all that effort into finding her and then suffered through the indignity of being shoved in a _box _by a man who smelled of a sour mixture nervousness and anger. All in all, it had been a traumatic experience for the half-Kneazle.

"Yes, you missed me, didn't you?" She cooed to the feline, stroking his head and rubbing her cheek against the soft fur on his back.

Draco ran a stressed hand through his hair. "I'm assuming you want the beast to come back to the Manor with us?"

"Of course."

With a sigh, he apparated back to the Manor, knowing she'd follow behind him moments later. He wasn't disappointed – well, he _was _because the cat was with her, but he'd been right. They were just lucky that his parents didn't decide to do away with her and her atrocious pet for inconveniencing them, refusing to make them breakfast, and forcing them to stay in a small cabin _together_. Merlin forbid they spend some time together as a family – come to think of it, Merlin probably _had _forbidden Malfoy gatherings at some point, nothing good ever happened when members of the prestigious family convened in one place.

"If you're keeping that monster, then I'm going to buy an equally monstrous pet," Draco threatened, but she just huffed, not worried. His stone-coloured eyes narrowed at her unaffected expression. He'd show her, she'd regret not taking his threat seriously.

* * *

Hermione slowly got used to living in Malfoy Manor. She had discovered that as long as she didn't say a word during the Monday night dinners –the only time she was required to be in the same room as the older Malfoys- then she could survive unscathed.

Draco seemed to be off doing something or another all the time, so her contact with him was minimal – nearly nonexistent. She only ever saw him during Monday dinners, and his parents were there for those, so it wasn't like they could talk or anything.

Life in the ancestral home wasn't as excruciating as she'd thought it would be, but it was lonelier than she'd ever expected. Crookshanks had taken to following at her heels everywhere she went. It was like he was worried that if she spent too much time alone, she'd spiral into depression or something.

What she needed was a goal. Running to Harry and Ginny's house would feel like a retreat, meaning the Malfoys would win, so it was going to have to be something within the Manor. She strode down the corridor on her way to the library as she thought, Crookshanks following closely at her feet.

The Gryffindor screeched and jumped back, nearly stepping on her loyal cat when a large, yellow eye appeared outside the window she'd glanced out of.

A chuckle echoed down the hall from behind her, startling her and endangering Crookshank's life once again.

"I told you I'd get a pet as monstrous as yours," Draco said smugly, arms crossed and leaning in a doorway as he watched Hermione's startled reactions.

"There's a _Hungarian Horntail _in the garden!" Hermione yelled. The thing was going to _eat _someone. Draco had obviously gone _mental_– it was actually quite possible that he'd _always _been mental.

He nodded, obviously proud of himself. "I'm told her name is Cupcake. Greatly misunderstood creatures, dragons. Underneath all the murderous rage, they're just cuddly little animals wanting to be loved, exactly like you claim that fur-ball of yours is."

Hermione looked at him incredulously. She glanced out the window and watched as the Horntail launched balls of fire at sparrows, incinerating the harmless little birds.

"Yes, I'm sure Cupcake just wants to be loved." She said sarcastically. Underneath all the murderous rage, there was only _more _murderous rage inside the Horntails; Harry had learned this from experience.

Crookshanks chose that moment to meow loudly at Hermione, as if reminding her that she'd been on her way to the library. She sent one last glare towards Draco, telling him with her eyes to 'fix this'.

He watched her walk purposely towards the room of books, with no intention of removing the large, scaly threat from the gardens. Everyone needed to live on the edge now and then, now whenever he felt like living on the edge, he only had to step out into the garden to look death in the eye. Maybe he'd get lucky and the dragon would eat Hermione's monster of a cat.

It wasn't long after the brunette had settled down with a book that the door to the library creaked open. Crookshanks started his chainsaw growl almost immediately, causing Hermione to look up, wondering what in the world would make the usually gentle cat sound so threatening.

"What do you need Mrs. Malfoy?" She asked with forced politeness as Narcissa crept into the room and primly settled down on one of the chairs near her while eyeing Crookshanks wearily.

"You need to talk to Draco. I went for a stroll in the garden today and had to flee for my life from a _dragon_."

Hermione tried not to snort with amusement as she pictured the graceful woman holding onto her sunhat while she tried to flee from the dragon in her heels.

"What do you want me to do about him?"

"Draco doesn't listen to me, but for some reason he seems to hear what you say." The blonde woman looked disturbed to almost deliver a compliment to Hermione, a Muggleborn.

Pursing her lips, Hermione contemplated. "Why should I do you any favours? You've been nothing but horrible and cold to me since I got here for no reason I can help."

Narcissa raised a delicate eyebrow and looked the insolent chit up and down, assessing. She hadn't expected any resistance; it was almost... admirable, despite her parentage. "Perhaps I can be a little less vocal about my disapproval." She consented slowly.

"Then I'll see what I can do about Draco. Give me some time though, I have some preparations to do first."

Narcissa nodded and left the room, almost proud of the girl. She was confident that the brunette would be able to persuade her son.


	7. Letters and Lions and Snakes Oh My

**Chapter 6: Letters and Lions and Snakes Oh My**

**A/N: To everyone who reviewed: thanks! You guys are great! I remember when I was so excited that I got 4 whole reviews on my very first chapter of fanfiction and now I've got 17 in one chapter in only a few days! *bigeyes* You people are so awesome. As an expression of my appreciation and excitement, here's the next chapter early!**

**A big thanks to harrypotterluver123 for betaing!**

**~Frosty**

After Narcissa left her in the library, Hermione set her large brain to plotting. She was going to have to pay a visit to a few shops, so she might as well have a day of it and make a few stops while she was out of the Manor.

"Looks like I'm going out Crooks," she said happily, stroking her loyal pet.

Glancing at the clock in the corner of the library, Hermione discovered that it wasn't as late as she'd thought, it was just after breakfast. She still had plenty of time for her errands.

Crookshanks meowed accusingly when she set him down. Just when he finally started to get comfortable the silly girl had to go and move him. Humans were so selfish sometimes.

He watched with disapproving eyes as his owner grabbed a handful of Floo powder and disappeared into a blaze of green flames before hopping up into the warm spot on the chair she'd just vacated.

Hermione stumbled out into a room full of loud animal noises. The sounds were coming from cages in an array of shapes and sizes containing various different animals, both magical and otherwise. If Draco was going to play a game of one-upping her pets, then she was going to get something worse than a dragon.

After a few words with the man behind the counter, a hefty bribe, and a quick exchange of payment, Hermione left with store with a huge grin on her face. Draco was _not _going to be pleased about what she'd just used a large sum of his money for and she couldn't be happier with her purchase.

Her next stop was Grimmauld Place, she hadn't seen Harry since she left the Hogwarts Express and that had been _weeks _ago. It was with great anticipation that she Apparated to the front of his house and knocked on the door, only then realizing that it was entirely possible he was busy, or wasn't even home.

On her fourth try knocking, the door whipped open to reveal the familiar form of her friend, looking even scruffier than usual. His hair was everywhere, he appeared to be wearing pyjamas, and his glasses were nowhere in sight.

"Hermione?" He questioned, squinting at her as he tried to get the fuzzy blob to focus into something recognizable. The blob _seemed _like Hermione... He reached out a hand and patted her hair, just to be sure.

Amused by her friend's antics, Hermione threw herself at him. She'd _missed _Harry.

"Jeez Hermione, I've missed you, but did you have to show up so _early_?" He complained, hugging her back just as tightly.

"Harry..." She started as she pulled out of the hug to give her friend a frown. "It's _noon_. I've already faced Draco, his mother, and a dragon today and you're not even fully awake yet."

"Hey, I'm the saviour of the Wizarding world, I don't have to be up before noon if I don't want to..." He said jokingly, pausing as the rest of what she'd told him finally sunk in. "I think you're going to have to explain the dragon bit."

"You put some clothes on, I'll make tea," Hermione offered.

Happily clinking around her friend's kitchen, Hermione managed to scrounge up two cups of tea and some toast from the abominable selection Harry's cupboards had to offer. She set the cups and toast on the table and sat, waiting for him to return.

"Explain to me this 'dragon' thing," Harry ordered, joining her at the table, now fully dressed.

Hermione rolled her eyes. "Draco's got it into his head that if I get to keep Crookshanks around, then he gets to keep a pet that's equally 'monstrous'." She frowned at her friend when Harry started laughing.

"It's not _that _funny," she muttered, glaring into her teacup as she took a sip.

"Hermione, he bought a _dragon _to prove how much he doesn't like your cat."

"No... I don't think he actually hates Crookshanks all that much, he bought the dragon to spite me, and possibly his parents."

Harry laughed some more, and shook his head at the put-out expression on her face.

"So tell me more about living in the den of snakes. Is it as horrible as you feared?" He asked, looking eager for the horrifying details.

She frowned in annoyance. Where were the annoyingly protective words and the sympathy? It was almost like Harry thought she was _enjoying _her time there.

The teacup stopped its movement towards her mouth as Hermione froze. _Did _she actually almost enjoy living at the Manor? Sure the older Malfoys were aloof and sometimes infuriating, and it was lonely, but she had someone on equal footing with her. Ron had just yelled at her to get rid of her beloved cat, not tried to persuade her with... dragons. It was insane, but she was sort of having fun planning Draco's nasty surprise.

The two friends chatted and laughed the rest of the day away. Hermione didn't even realize how tense she'd been until it had all melted away in the glow of Harry's friendship.

Late that night as she was standing beside the fireplace and ready to Floo back to the Manor, Harry remembered something. "Oh! People aren't really sure where to send these, so I've been getting them for you and Ron too." He handed her a large armful of envelopes. "They're job offers."

Hermione was excited about the prospect of a job. Earning her own income instead of feeling like she was some kind of parasite living off the Malfoy fortune was an attractive idea. She shrunk the envelopes down, stuffed them all in her pocket and gave Harry one last hug before she threw the Floo powder into the flames and quickly followed it.

The happiness that had bubbled within her while she'd been visiting Harry dimmed a little when she set foot inside the Manor once again, but she could still feel it there, warming her veins. She practically skipped through the halls back to her room.

When she saw what was waiting for her on her bed, a little bit more of the happiness faded. Sitting with his arms crossed and one of the darkest scowls she'd ever seen was Draco, glaring daggers at her.

"Where the hell have you been?" He demanded as she came in the door, pushing himself off the bed so he could stand and tower over her threateningly.

Hermione put her hands on her hips and glared. "Draco Malfoy, don't take that tone with me, it's none of your business where I've been."

Honestly, did he expect her to report her every movement to him? It wasn't like he'd bothered to tell her where he was going while he'd been constantly out at all hours setting up a deal to buy the dragon. If she wasn't aware that it was physically impossible, she'd be worried that he was having an affair. Was that what he thought she'd been doing?

"Hermione _Malfoy_, it_ is_ my business. When you took my name your safety became my responsibility. How am I supposed to keep you safe when you're running off in the middle of the night?"

The glare that had been prominent in her brown eyes softened as she looked at him and realized what he was really saying. "Were you _worried _about me?" She asked quietly, not quite believing what her intuition was telling her.

"I was no such thing."

She dropped her defensive stance and grinned at him. "You were worried about me!"

Draco glowered. "I wasn't." He said in a cold voice.

More confident in her assumption now, Hermione stepped forward so she could pat his cheek. "Don't worry, I went out into the big, scary world and came back completely unscathed. It's kind of ironic that you're afraid of me leaving here and getting hurt when the _dragon _in the garden and your _parents _pose more of a danger than most of the things out there."

The blonde did _not _appreciate her condescending tone... though she did have a point about the danger thing. He couldn't really explain his illogical worry about the woman; she was more than capable of taking care of herself, as she'd shown him in third year. She just seemed so _breakable _sometimes.

He shook his head roughly; if he didn't know any better, he'd think he might actually _like _his wife. It would probably be best to just leave the room before he did even more to make it seem like he was concerned for her safety.

"There's a package here for you." He shut her door behind her as he headed towards his own room, muttering all the way. He wasn't concerned about her safety, it was just indigestion he'd been feeling, and that rush of relief when she came back safe had been... something he would eventually find an alternate excuse for. Draco had always been good at lying, even to himself.

Hermione stared after him, bemused. Shaking her head at his confusing actions, she turned to the bed where there was a box waiting. Who would send her a package? Her thoughts went immediately to Ron. If it was from the redhead, then there was a large chance that he'd cursed the contents.

She fished in her pockets for her wand. When it was firmly in her hand, Hermione cast a very thorough diagnostic spell to see if there was any magical residue around the box, which would signify that there was a spell on it. The package seemed to be clean of all but the vaguest of magical traces, so she deemed it safe.

Hermione opened the mysterious box to reveal a Slytherin green lingerie set. She glared at the lacy negligee; if Draco had sent this, he was _dead_. Did he really think she'd actually wear something like that? Did _anyone _actually think she'd wear something like that? Maybe it was just a joke...

Picking up the top with two fingers as if she was going to be contaminated by maintaining too much contact with the thing, Hermione carefully examined it. There was no way _that _was going to be anything close to comfortable; she couldn't imagine why anyone would think she'd actually _wear _the thing.

A note fluttered to the floor as she picked up the bottom half.

_Granger – I refuse to call you Malfoy,_

_Draco has needs and your vow makes me or anyone else no longer able to fulfill them. Do something about it or he'll be unbearable to _all _his friends and probably you too, and we really don't want an unbearable Draco on our hands, trust me. _

_Daphne_

Her eyebrows were raised in disbelief by the time she'd finished the note. The Slytherin idea of friendship seemed to be different than the normal person's idea of friendship. She couldn't imagine ever sending someone a package like that on Harry's behalf, even if he was a little grumpy.

There was no way she was going to do _that_, but maybe there was an alternative...

If he hadn't just showed concern for her well-being, Hermione probably wouldn't have considered doing it, but he had. She wanted to show him that she appreciated his concern. Maybe if she was good enough, he'd even agree to get rid of the dragon – not that she would stop her plan if he did.

She strode from her room before she chickened out. Courageous Gryffindor she may be, but standing around agonizing about decisions would wear on even the most resolute of souls.

Hermione hesitated outside Draco's bedroom door, once again unsure if she wanted to go through with what she had planned. It would most likely change their relationship and she wasn't sure if the change would be for the better.

Gathering all her resolve, so grabbed the doorknob and turned it, opening the door a crack to peek inside.

"Draco?" She called.

"What're you doing in my room so late?"

Thankfully, he was fully dressed, sitting on top of the blankets in his bed and reading. He didn't look angry that she was there, but Daphne was right, he did look grouchy.

"Have you been talking to Daphne recently?" She asked, hesitantly coming into the room.

The blonde looked confused. "I may've told her to sod off a few days ago when she Flooed."

Determinedly, Hermione marched over to the bed. Draco looked confused and a little worried about whatever she planned on doing, so he stood to face her, taking advantage of his greater height.

Without a word, she grabbed him by the shoulders, turned him around and shoved him onto the bed. If Draco had been actually resisting her actions, she wouldn't have been able to move him, but he was interested to see what in the world she had planned. His look of confusion was missed as she climbed on top of him, sat on his thighs and leant over him to rest her weight on her hands, which were pressed to his shoulders.

Hermione tried not to notice how firm his shoulders were as she started to knead them.

"What're you doing?" The blonde asked, sounding a little strained.

"Daphne sent me a... note today, said you needed to relieve some tension so you won't be standoffish all the time."

"I really don't think this was what she had in mind..." He winced as she found a knot in his back and worked it a little harder than necessary beneath her hands.

"Well, there's no way I'm doing what she suggested, and Harry will quit his job for a ballet career before I wear what she sent." Hermione huffed.

"I always knew Potter would end up in the performing arts, he can't stand to spend even a moment without all the attention on him."

Hermione slapped his shoulder, but didn't scold him for insulting her friends. Apparently, Daphne had been right, Draco _was _really tense. She could feel him relaxing under her ministrations, even his voice was losing some of its venom. It seemed that the key to making Draco nicer was getting rid of his tension. She wondered how he'd react to the suggestion that he take a bubble bath.

He groaned quietly when she reached the middle of his back, and Hermione could feel him practically turn to goo under her hands. "Daphne was right, you really _are _tense," she mumbled.

"What exactly was it that Daphne told you to do?" He asked, his voice slightly muffled by the bed. He had a pretty good idea, but it would be amusing to hear the Gryffindor say it.

Her lips quirked into an almost-smile. "Suffice to say it came with lingerie."

"I think I might relax more if you'd wear it to do what you're doing."

Hermione whacked him again. She wasn't going to be able to keep massaging him for much longer, it was surprisingly exhausting and her arms were starting to hurt.

After another several minutes of working in silence, Hermione was pretty sure her arms were going to fall off and Draco's breathing had evened out into a relaxed rhythm - she suspected that he had fallen asleep. Deciding there was no point in continuing if he wasn't even awake to appreciate her efforts, she lifted her leg over him and flopped on her back.

It was late and she was more than tired, so she started to let her eyes drift shut, uncaring that she was in Draco's bed. They snapped right back open when he slipped his arms under her and flipped her onto her front.

"What are you doing?" She asked, not worried that he'd hurt her, but still weary of him as he rested his weight on either side of her legs.

"Returning the favour."

His warm hands started gently working the tense muscles of her neck and it felt like heaven. It was no wonder his foul mood had lifted while she'd been working on him. She involuntarily moaned, basking in the firm pressure he was exerting on her back. The hands immediately withdrew when the sound escaped her lips.

"Hermione, stop moaning like that or this is going to turn into more than a massage." He said tightly.

Hermione was grateful that her face was buried in the blankets; he couldn't see her blush when she'd realized what had happened.

"Don't get all tense on me again, just stop moaning," he grumbled when he felt how rigid she'd gone.

It took him a while, but he gradually worked out all the knots in her back, just as she'd done for him. She bit her lip to keep herself from moaning again, she only emitted a few quiet squeaks when he pressed a little too hard in tender spots.

When he finally pulled away, Hermione was barely awake and felt like a noodle. A happy, comfy, warm noodle. Her eyes started to drift shut again.

"I don't care if you stay here, but you better not wake me up in the night with your crying or yell at me in the morning."

"Won't," she mumbled. Lifting the covers, she snuggled down into the bed.

Draco shook his head at her, smiling an amused smile while she couldn't see it. He joined her under the covers, careful not to touch her and cross the boundaries between them that seemed to comfort her. He didn't want her to come out of her languid state and start yelling at him for trying to seduce her or something equally untrue.

The distance lasted around three seconds before she shifted towards him and stuck her cold feet between his warmer ones. He was trying to remove his feet from hers when she grabbed his arm and snuggled against his side. Had she always been so strong? It seemed that her boundaries only lasted while she was awake.

Knowing when a struggle is futile was one of Draco's gifts. He shrugged a little, threw an arm over her and then closed his eyes – might as well appreciate the contact while she was offering, even if she _was _asleep.

* * *

Draco woke up to the accusing green stare of the monster. It was sitting on his chest with a disapproving look, probably hoping he would inhale the furry tail that was resting across his nose and die. He felt like if he were to make a wrong move, the orange demon would pounce and shred his face – and nothing Draco did would be the right move.

The blonde's eyes darted over to the bushy hair beside him and then back to the cat. "It's not what you think." He said, then winced. He was defending himself to a _cat_.

"Mate, I don't even know what to think." The cat answered.

Draco eyes widened with horror at the implications of a talking cat.

"It wasn't the cat that was talking to you, it was me," Blaise said, removing the feline from his friend's chest.

The blond slid into a sitting position, dislodging the grip Hermione had on his arm and waking her up as well.

"Whaaa...?" She asked, looking confused and frazzled.

"Are you two aware there's a trio of lionesses guarding the bedroom door?" Blaise asked the sleepy pair.

Hermione perked up. "My lions are here!" She said happily.

Crookshanks mewed approvingly and trotted to the door, waiting to be let out.

"Why _lions_?" Draco demanded.

"Because there's a dragon in the garden!"

Blaise looked interested, but they both ignored his questioning look.

Hermione opened the door, allowing the lions in. Crookshanks meowed at the trio and they sat at attention, looking at him.

"Look! They've adopted him as the leader of their pride. Isn't that just the most adorable thing?" She petted the half-Kneazle, obviously proud of him.

"Precious." Draco said sarcastically. "That cat hates me and now he has _giant _minions just _waiting _to tear me apart."

"Get rid of the dragon and I'll get rid of the lions," Hermione said primly, walking out the door. The cat followed her, trotting with his tail in the air, and the lions stalked behind the both of them.

"She's obviously even better suited to you than I thought," Blaise said approvingly.

Draco whacked him with a pillow.


	8. Keep Your Germs to Yourself

**Chapter 7: Keep Your Germs to Yourself**

**A/N: Okay, I was going to wait a few more days before I posted this chapter, but you wonderful reviewers sent in 27 reviews for one chapter! Thanks so much! So, here's a chapter to once again express my gratitude. You people are wonderful!**

**Another person who has my gratitude is harrypotterluver123 (also wonderful) for beataing!**

**On another note (one that will make sense later) I actually know someone who dislocated a rib coughing... Just so you know it's possible.  
**

**Also, to the anonymous reviewer **Alice.x**, the site took out part of your email address when you reviewed. I guessed at it, but it probably won't get to you. Sorry.**

**~Frosty**

Hermione was embarrassed that someone had been witness to her little sleepover in Draco's bed, but she did her best to hide it. Nothing good would come from letting Slytherins see her mortification.

She pulled out her yarn and needles, planning to spend a nice, quiet day knitting hats for the House Elves. Her efforts to free them had been seriously lacking since the collapse of S.P.E.W, and it was about time she started up again. It wasn't fair to try and free the Malfoy elves until she had enough hats for all of them, so she had a lot of work to do.

When she pulled out the balls of yarn, she discovered that lions liked to play with them almost as much as cats did. The four felines immediately descended on the basket and stole all the coils of string from her. She would have been irritated if they weren't so adorable while they pounced around.

"Granger, what the hell is going on in there?" Someone asked from the other side of her bedroom door, probably worried by the snarling and thumping sounds as the cats played.

"Zabini, first: I'm not Granger anymore. Second: what are you doing outside my bedroom door?" Hermione had to raise her voice slightly to be heard over the racket the felines were making.

"Can I come in?"

"Fine," she sighed, figuring he'd probably come in with or without her permission. It was better for both of them if she pretended she had control over the situation.

The Italian froze in her doorway when he saw the large cats playing on the floor.

"They won't hurt you, just don't take their yarn," she assured him when he looked like he wasn't going to come in after all. Unlike Draco's pet that posed a threat to the lives of everyone living close to it, Hermione's lions only _looked_ intimidating, they were harmless – as harmless as lions could ever be.

Blaise edged into the room and around the cats, putting the bed between himself and the large, furry whirlwind of claws, teeth and wool.

"Aren't you supposed to be visiting Draco?" She asked when it didn't seem like he was going to do more than watch the furry ones wearily.

"He kicked me out so he could have a shower. I came to talk to you."

She looked at him expectantly. "And what is it you wanted to talk to me about?"

"Your relationship with my blonde friend."

Immediately, Hermione was defensive. "What about it?"

"He's not really the prat you met at Hogwarts. You should give him a chance, he deserves to be loved."

She was surprised by the level of friendship between the two Slytherins; Blaise genuinely wanted his friend to be happy. Not for selfish reasons, but because he thought Draco deserved it – or possibly because the temperamental blonde had a habit of taking out his anger on those around him. Either way, the sentiment was sweet and something she hadn't expected from Slytherins.

"He'd strangle you if he ever found out you said something like that to me," she warned him.

Blaise nodded, liking her more and more with every minute he spent with the woman. She wasn't as uptight as they'd always thought, _and _she was able to keep up with Draco and his odd and elaborate plots, something none of the previous girls had been able to do. If the woman hadn't been in Gryffindor and very set in her hatred of the Malfoy heir during their school years, Blaise would have tried to set them up sooner.

"He's nothing but hostile if you're on his bad side, but if you're his friend, he'll give you the world... He'd insult you and put you down the entire time, but he'd give you the world."

"Zabini, do you really think I would have been in bed with him –even if we were _just sleeping_- if I thought he was still the prejudiced bastard he was in school?" She asked, slightly irritated that he thought her to be someone who didn't care about morals and just started bed-hopping.

The Slytherin shook his head. "I suppose not, but you're not near as close as you could be. I think you two are actually capable of a marriage. The kind with real love and affection."

Hermione snorted.

"You'd both be so much happier if you could forget your pride and your past for a moment and let yourselves fall instead of fighting it tooth and nail." He insisted when she continued to look disbelieving.

"Blaise, you better not be getting into trouble!" Draco called from his room, well aware of the kinds of things Blaise could do when allowed too much time unsupervised. The bloke was incapable of being left to his own devices for very long before he did something that would piss off the nearest person capable of hexing.

"I was never here," Zabini said before edging past the felines again and leaving the room.

She contemplated his words for a while. It would be nice to have the loving marriage she'd always pictured on the few occasions she'd set her formidable brainpower to thinking about something as frivolous as her future marriage. Just because it wasn't with Ron didn't mean that she couldn't be happy – not that she would have been happy with Ron, the cheating bastard.

* * *

Later, when she was sitting in the library reading over the stack of job offers Harry had collected, Draco found her.

"What're you doing?" He asked.

"Reviewing job offers, I want to make sure I'm happy with my choice."

"Why would you _want _to work?"

Hermione looked surprised. "You're not going to get a job?"

"Of course not. I've learned to manage the Malfoy portfolio and invest the money we have wisely, that's all the work I'll ever need to do."

That was just... upsetting. The Malfoys had such obscene amounts of money that their only job was to watch the piles of gold grow bigger. At least that meant she didn't have to concern herself with only looking at the high paying jobs to earn enough to support herself, she could afford to never get paid if that was what she wanted.

"Well I'm going to get a proper job. I want a career... I just haven't decided in _what _yet."

Draco sat down beside her and grabbed a pile of envelopes. "All these people want you to work for them? Are you even qualified to be a 'mermaid liaison minister'?"

"No, but it looks good to have a war hero on staff, so lots of people are trying to... acquire me." She wrinkled her nose in distaste. It wasn't pleasant to be treated like a collectable action figure. She felt like the Hermione Granger doll, complete with iron-clad morals and bushy-hair action.

Draco wasn't sure what to say to that, so he continued to flip through what he assumed was her 'rejected' pile of job offers.

"What's wrong with this one? I think you'd make a very amusing seeker for the Cannons." He said, holding up a garish orange letter. "At this point, it's not like they can get any _worse_."

Hermione ignored his comment, but couldn't help but agree with his cruel-but-true statement. She only hoped Ron had been offered a position on the team as well; otherwise he'd be even more unbearable than he already was – not that she wanted anything to do with him after he admitted to cheating on her.

She opened another one, snickered and passed it to Draco.

"Playwizard wants you to model for them?" He asked, looking somewhere between horrified and intrigued.

Hermione whacked him. "Get your mind out of the gutter."

"Where else would my mind be? You're the one who handed me the envelope and now my poor, innocent mind is firmly entrenched in the gutter and you've only yourself to blame."

She whacked him again.

Draco was suddenly attacked by a sneezing fit. "I think I'm getting a cold," he mumbled, mostly to himself.

"Well don't give it to me," Hermione ordered. She shifted her chair away from him slightly, as if the extra distance would protect her from his germs.

She was so busy reading that she didn't notice the strange glint in Draco's eye. He turned back to the letters continuing his reading, but that gleam didn't leave his grey irises. Had she noticed, she would have been more prepared for what he had in store for her.

It wasn't until she stood from her seat that Draco acted out his evil plan. He followed her into the hallway, waited until she was least expecting it, and tackled her to the ground, making sure he didn't crush her on the way down – what he had planned would hardly be effective if she whacked her head on the floor or broke a few ribs.

Hermione screamed as the ground rushed up at her, but he'd cast a cushioning charm or something, because she bounced a little when she hit and wasn't hurt at all. She glared up at the blonde leaning over her, intending to thoroughly scold him for being an idiot, but she found that he wasn't looking at her eyes; his gaze was completely focused on her lips.

She held her breath, not sure how to react when he leant his head down and forcefully crashed his lips against hers. For a moment she was completely frozen, taken completely by surprise, but she quickly retaliated. What ensued was a battle of nipping teeth, bruised lips and tangled tongues that left Hermione lightheaded from lack of air. Her quiet gasps and moans echoed down the corridor followed by his answering growls and groans.

She was seeing spots from air deprivation by the time he pulled away. Her poor brain seemed to have gone into hibernation, as she was only able to stare at him in bewilderment. Not even Hermione was sure whether the bewilderment was because he'd kissed her in the first place or because he'd gone and _stopped _– she feared it was the latter.

Draco cleared his throat, looking a little awkward when he got off of her. He hadn't intended to take his little plot that far, the moment had caught him up and carried him away just as it seemed to have done to her – not that she'd objected.

"There. If I _am _getting sick, you're now thoroughly infected," he said proudly, inwardly wincing when his voice was more gravelly than he'd intended. His explanation was feeble, as a simple peck would probably have had the same effect as the all out snog, but she seemed just as frazzled as he was, so he was hoping she wouldn't notice.

He fled before Hermione could regain her bearings enough to hex him.

* * *

The next morning, both Hermione and Draco woke up with horrible colds. Head pounding, sneezing, coughing stuffy headed colds that left them both in miserable moods.

Hermione spent the day going over her job options one more time before she accepted one as head of the Department of Control and Regulation of Magical Creatures. She felt like that was where she could do the most good.

After the letter of acceptance was sent, she moved on to knitting more hats for the House Elves. She almost had enough for all of them and planned on setting to work freeing them as soon as she was over the horrid cold – it would look _horrible _to be trying to free the elves at work and then come home to a mansion of enslaved elves.

"It's not going to work."

Her eyes didn't leave the knitting in her hands.

"Oh, very mature. You're just going to ignore me?"

Hermione glared. "You're just here to start a fight. I've not giving you the satisfaction. This cold that's keeping me bedridden is entirely your fault!"

Draco was unsympathetic, though he was pleased that she seemed willing to argue with him, even if she claimed she wasn't going to. He wasn't much better off that her, swaying slightly as he stood because the cold was making him light-headed. The Slytherin was forced to keep a hand holding the doorframe to keep himself steady.

"Do you honestly think you'll be able to uproot centuries of tradition with _hats_?" He taunted, looking scornfully at the pile she had accumulated. The Gryffindor was never going to free the elves because they didn't _want _to be freed.

She refrained from commenting while picturing stabbing him with the knitting needles she was holding. Yes, that would significantly decrease the rage she currently felt towards him.

Draco did not like being ignored. He stalked over to the bed and let himself fall onto the empty space beside her, secretly glad that he didn't have to hold himself up anymore. "Knitting's a waste of time." He announced, followed quickly by a coughing fit.

She still ignored him; her sniffles were loud in the emptiness that she stubbornly refused to fill with words as he so obviously wanted her to do.

"You're delusional if you think you'll _ever _be able to make a difference in anything." He knew that every comment that slipped from his lips was meaner than the last, but it was driving him up the wall that she was ignoring him. _No one _got to ignore him, not even frustrating, Gryffindor wives.

Hermione's knuckles turn white as she gripped her needles, but surprisingly, she managed to keep her temper in check. It may have had something to do with the sedatives in the cold potion she'd taken, or maybe she was just becoming more patient from prolonged exposure to his sometimes exceedingly abrasive personality.

"You see your drive to help the 'lesser beings' as noble, but most Purebloods see it as laughable and pathetic." As soon as the words were out of his mouth, Draco knew he'd gone too far. There was genuine hurt in her eyes hidden far behind the anger when she finally turned their chocolate depths towards him.

Her glare was fierce as she waved her wand, watching a surprised and guilty Draco disappear into a puff of purple smoke. She knew he'd been lashing out because he wanted attention, but that sort of behaviour hadn't been okay when he was five and it was even less acceptable now that he was grown.

* * *

Hours later, Narcissa found Hermione still sitting on her bed, quietly knitting.

"Have you seen Draco? He was supposed to dispose of the dragon today." The blonde woman asked. She'd become slightly warmer towards the brunette since Hermione had agreed to try to convince Draco that the Horntail was a bad idea. Hermione doubted that 'dragon disposal' was why the woman really wanted to know her son's location, since it was highly unlikely that Draco had given up the fight so easily, but she wasn't going to pry.

Innocently, the brunette shook her head. "No, sorry."

The older woman gave Hermione a hard look before accepting her word and leaving the room. There was a niggling feeling at the back of her mind that the Gryffindor had something to do with Draco's disappearance, but it wasn't like the boy had been missing long, and it was unlikely that the war hero would deal him any lasting damage. He'd turn up eventually, possibly slightly traumatised, but there was no doubt in the blonde woman's mind that the boy had earned whatever punishment his wife dealt.

The plastic needles clicked with every stitch as Hermione continued to knit. It was almost like they were protesting the movements in the only way they were capable of. Grinning, she leant down to whisper to them. "It seems to me that you're knitting for the House Elves just as much as I am."

Just to make sure her point was going to be remembered, she made sure to knit three hats before she stopped. Setting the purple needles down on the floor, Hermione waved her wand and watched as the cloud of smoke once again appeared. It cleared to reveal a very angry Malfoy.

"I can't _believe _you used human transfiguration!" He yelled, advancing towards her. "It's illegal for a _reason_."

Hermione refused to be intimidated. "I was proving a point. Besides, it's not like you or your family have any qualms about breaking laws. You're just upset because now you're just as guilty of knitting the House Elves hats as I am." She told him primly.

"I wasn't knitting of my own free will. I was... an accessory to knitting!" He snapped, trying to sound stern with utterly ridiculous words. The menacing tone he'd obviously intended was further lessened by his croaky voice.

It looked like Draco would dearly love to throttle her, but, of course, his vow stopped him. Instead he just left the room, probably to plot something. Hermione chuckled a little as she finished her last hat. There, finished! As soon as she was on her feet again she could start freeing the elves!

Crookshanks and the lions soon drifted off into catnaps, taking up most of Hermione's bed. She was very close to joining them in dreamland when her door opened, startling one of the lions awake.

Draco paused in the doorway. "I can't see it being safe to sleep with three full-grown lions in your bed."

The brunette sleepily waved him off. "If you're here for your revenge, get on with it, if it's not something important, leave me to my nap."

His answer was delayed by a coughing fit that had him leaning against the wall.

"You should take some of this potion before you dislocate a rib," Hermione said, offering him the bottle. It had done wonders for her cold, but it did make her awfully sleepy. She was so tired that her eyes were having difficulty staying focused.

Draco took the bottle from her and sat on the edge of her bed. He didn't take a drink though; wanted to be fully awake until he had some answers.

"What's this about?" He demanded, brandishing the day's paper at her.

Hermione took it from him, sleepily scanning the headline and resulting story.

_**Malfoy/Granger Wedding Not Working Out?**_

_The entire magical world was shocked when Hermione Granger, war hero, recently wed Draco Malfoy, known Death Eater. Recent reports have suggested that their married life isn't happy in the least. Turn to page 5 for more on this story._

It went on to describe every detail of the fights they'd recently had, and even had an aerial picture of the dragon that was still prowling the gardens.

"How would they know all this?" She asked, confused.

"I haven't told a soul _any _of it, and not even my parents would be able to get all those details. So it had to have been someone _you _told."

Hermione was indignant that he automatically assumed that it was her fault, but then she remembered her trip to Harry's house. He wouldn't... would he?

"Hermione?" Harry's voice came out of the fireplace in her room. It seemed that she was about to find out.


	9. Don't Mess With Hermione

**Chapter 8: Don't Mess With Hermione **

**A/N: As always, thanks to the wonderful harrypotterluver123 for betaing! And thanks to everyone who reviewed! I got so many... I would have given you guys another chapter as a reward, but I used up all the ones I already had edited, so you had to wait. **

**I'm currently in class... *grins* I'm being bad and posting fanfiction while in my Classics lecture... The ancient Roman playwrights can wait, they won't mine, they're long dead anyway.**

**~Frosty**

Her raven-haired friend climbed out of the flames and took in the scene before him: Hermione lying in her bed, looking like death warmed over while Malfoy was perching on the bed beside her not looking much better. And taking up the rest of the bed was a trio of lions and Crookshanks. It was strange all right.

"I can't see it being safe to sleep with three full-grown lions in your bed." Harry said, unknowingly copying Draco's earlier words exactly and earning himself a nasty glare from the blond.

"Harry, please tell me you have nothing to do with the article that told the details of my personal life to the world." Hermione begged, ignoring the lion comment and Draco's expression.

Harry rubbed the back of his neck and shifted uncomfortably. "It wasn't intentional; I was just telling Ron about what you'd been up to-"

"RON? That foul... foul," Hermione searched for the right insult. It wasn't that she couldn't think of one, it was just that there were _so many _things she could call him and she didn't know which one to choose.

"Pathetic excuse for a human being?" Draco offered helpfully, enjoying the chance to anger Potter and insult Weasley in one sentence without Hermione getting upset with him.

"Yes! That foul excuse for a human being doesn't deserve to know _anything _about me. He forfeited the right to be my friend when he cheated on me and then cut me out of his life for something I had no control over." Her anger seemed to have burned away the remainder of the sedative in the potion she'd taken, because she felt wide awake all of a sudden.

"Hermione listen to me," Harry tried to explain, but Hermione wasn't having any of that. She jumped from the bed and stormed from the room before she did something she'd come to regret.

"I think I should go talk to her..." Harry mumbled to himself, looking after Hermione.

"I wouldn't if I were you Potter. I've seen that look before, you won't like the consequences if you try to follow her," Draco said, not sure why he was being almost helpful. Possibly because murders were such a _pain _to make disappear, Potter's even more so than the average person because the media would have a field day if he went missing.

Harry shot a glare at the blonde, but completely disregarded the warning. Who was Malfoy to think he knew Hermione better than someone who had been her best friend since first year? He left the room, chasing after Hermione.

Shrugging, Draco ignored the entire situation and walked into the kitchen to get an elf to make him a sandwich. While he chewed, the blond contemplated some of the evil things his wife could be doing to Scarhead that very moment. It gave him a warm, tingly feeling to ponder, but he quickly gave up, knowing that even his devious Slytherin mind wouldn't be able to accurately guess what she'd come up with for her unfortunate friend.

It wasn't until Draco was on his way back to his bedroom that night that he found out what had become of Potter. The man was groaning as he hung from the ceiling by his ankles above a pool of fish that appeared to be piranha. The lions and orange demon had gathered around the pool to stare, entranced by the darting motions of the fish as they swam.

"Malfoy! Get me down from here," Potter gasped when he saw that he was no longer alone in the hallway – well, save for the piranha and felines, but Draco suspected that they hadn't been much help.

The Slytherin ignored the pleading green eyes directed at him and leant over the pool of water. He summoned a steak from the kitchen and dropped it in the pool, just to check if his guess about the fish had been correct. The fish immediately swarmed the meat and consumed it. Yep, defiantly piranha. Impressive; Hermione must have been _really _pissed.

When Draco turned his eyes away from the fish and looked up again, Potter was looking much paler than he had before. "Malfoy, _please _get me down from here."

The blond sighed and pointed his wand at the binding spell holding the other man to the ceiling. "AFTER YOU VANISH THE FISH!" Potter frantically yelled.

Rolling his eyes, Draco vanished the fish and their pool of water. Potter was so _oversensitive _about everything; he'd only been doing what the pathetic Gryffindor had asked. \

It was with relish and a wide smirk that Draco watched the annoyingly righteous Gryffindor fall to the floor in a heap.

"Thanks," Potter mumbled reluctantly as he rubbed his arms and watched the lions wearily, but they seemed content to just stare at him in their usual menacing fashion.

"Don't mention it. Really, don't. She'll probably turn on me for getting you down before you've 'learned your lesson'. The bint's as spiteful as they come, she just doesn't usually show it to her friends. Her husband however, is _always _fair game it seems." Draco said with a frown, remembering his recent stint as knitting needles.

Lucky for Draco, Potter was slightly more inclined to believe his words after the recent ordeal at the wrong end of Hermione's wand, so the blond remained un-hexed for saying those things about Scarhead's female friend.

Realizing that they were almost having a _bonding _moment, Draco raised his wand and cast a stinging hex at Potter. There, that was better. "It's obvious Hermione doesn't want you here, and no one else wants you here either. I think that it's best you leave now."

Harry's eyes were watering from the stinging hex, but he'd endured much worse. What he really wanted was to talk to Hermione before he left, he didn't want to leave while she was so mad at him. It was possible she'd never let him come back if he didn't at least get to explain himself.

"No, I want him here," Hermione said, stepping out of the shadows. Draco was surprised he hadn't noticed her, but he hid it well.

"Now that I'm not as angry, he's going to explain to me what happened." Her arms were crossed over her chest and her eyes said Harry's explanation better be a good one or there'd be hell to pay.

Harry glanced worriedly at Draco, as if asking if the blonde would step in if his wife got out of hand. Draco only shook his head and smirked. Just because most of the world would side with Potter over a Malfoy, didn't mean another Malfoy would. The Slytherin would gladly watch as Hermione did evil things to her friend, he'd probably even offer suggestions if it looked like she was running out of ideas – not that he thought she would, her mind was frightening in its deviousness sometimes.

"Well," Potter started, "I was telling Ron some of what you'd told me. Lavender left him when she lost the baby and he was really down, so I thought maybe if he knew you weren't happy, then he'd cheer up a little."

Hermione glared dangerously at her friend. "Who said I wasn't happy?"

Harry and Draco both turned to stare at her, surprised.

"You're happy?" The blond asked.

She shrugged and refused to make eye contact with either of them. "As long as I avoid your parents, it's not so bad living here."

Crookshanks meowed in agreement.

"I never thought I'd hear you say _that_," Harry said disbelievingly.

"For once I'm in agreement with you Potter." Draco said.

Hermione huffed. "Has it really been so bad living with me?" She asked the blonde. In her mind, she was a _much _nicer wife than Parkinson would have been, but she wanted to know what Draco thought.

"I would've thought you'd still be pissed at me for giving you my cold," he evaded. If he was going to show his soft side, it wasn't going to be in front of Potter.

Hermione blushed. "There're worse ways to catch an illness..." She mumbled, looking at the floor to avoid making eye-contact with either of her companions.

"Do I want to know how he gave you his cold?" Harry asked wearily, taking in his friend's blush and the strange look Malfoy was giving her.

"Shoved his tongue down my throat," Hermione said in a matter-of-fact tone, regaining her composure. She smirked when her friend turned a little green and looked really disturbed. He deserved some trauma after all the trouble he'd caused by blabbing to Ron.

"I didn't think you two were... that close." Harry managed to force out.

The two Malfoys regarded him in silence, unsure what to say. They seemed to settle on unnerving stare around the same time. Crookshanks and then the lions joined in as well. Altogether, it was an intimidating experience for poor Harry.

"Look Hermione," Harry started despite their stares. No one would ever call him a coward. "I just came to tell you it was kind of my fault that those things got out to the media and I'm sorry... I'll see you when you're less angry with me."

With that, he slipped back into her room. Shortly after he shut the door behind him, they heard the roar of the fire, signalling his departure from the Manor.

"Your apology is going to be awkward." Draco observed.

"Who says I'm going to apologise?"

The blonde raised a light eyebrow at her. "You suspended one of your best friends above a pool of carnivorous fish and then admitted to snogging me, someone he hates, just to make him uncomfortable."

Hermione flushed; when he put it that was, she started to see how her actions could come across as something she'd need to apologise for... "Was it too much?

"Not at all. In fact, I think it was perfect, I'm almost proud of you."_And it was bloody sexy, _he added in his mind, but he wasn't going to share that with her.

"Merlin, that means I'm so over the line it's not in sight anymore," she muttered.

Harry would understand that she'd been having a tough week and had taken it out on him, right?

"Should I go apologise now?" She asked Draco.

"I wouldn't know. I'm not exactly the expert at resolving conflicts in case you haven't noticed." The Slytherin told her wryly.

"What _wouldn't _you do were you in my situation?" Hermione figured it would be best to do the exact opposite of whatever Draco would have done.

"Well, I wouldn't go anywhere near Potter."

"Then I'm just going to have to go over there right now," she decided.

Draco rolled his eyes, but didn't argue. She hadn't interfered with his friendship with Blaise, so he owed her the same courtesy – but he didn't have to like it. "Just... be back before it's too late so I can sleep," he mumbled.

It was Hermione's turn to stare with her mouth open. "You're going to stay up and wait until I come back?"

He didn't answer her; instead he just stared stonily at the wall, his typical response when he didn't want to answer a question. Hermione was starting to grow almost fond of the expression, as it usually came after he said or did something nice that he deemed un-Malfoy.

"Is it the vow that makes you do it?"

Once again, he didn't answer. She took that as a 'no, I just worry about you'

Hermione was touched. She stepped forward, put a hand on his chest for balance, stood on her tiptoes and pressed a kiss to his cheek. "Vow or not, it's sweet." She said with a smile.

Draco still hadn't moved when she shut her bedroom door behind her.

"Harry?" Hermione called when she fell out of the fireplace in his living-room.

Her friend didn't answer, so she assumed he was somewhere deeper in the house. "Harry?" She called again, moving forward into the room.

She gasped in surprise and whipped around when someone cleared their throat behind her.

"You scared me!" She scolded, holding her hand to her throat in her surprise.

He crossed his arms and glared at her. "What are _you _doing here?"

"I'm looking for Harry. I have just as much right to be here as you-" Before she could finish her sentence, he grabbed a paperweight from the coffee table and bashed her over the head with it.

Hermione staggered forward, seeing stars. She swayed a moment before the blackness overcame her and she fell to the floor.

Draco was pacing. Hermione should have been back _hours _ago, it was approaching midnight and he was starting to get worried. Going to get her was out of the question –he didn't even know Potter's address.

What could possibly have been so important to her that she'd worry him like this? He was beginning to think something may be wrong – scratch that, he was positive something had gone wrong. Someone was going to pay, but he needed Hermione back before he could know who to blame.

The clock continued to tick by the seconds and Draco continued to pace. His head snapped up when a rustle came from the direction of the door. It wasn't her, it was just her cat.

"You think something's up too?" Draco asked. The cat –thankfully- didn't answer, but he took up pacing right beside Draco. It may be a monster, but there was no doubt the furry demon loved Hermione.

The Slytherin stopped his pacing. Did he love Hermione too? No, he barely got along with her, love was out of the question... Wasn't it? He certainly worried about her more than he'd ever worried about another person before.

His musings were interrupted by a whoosh as the flames in the fireplace nearby tripled in height and turned green. Draco crossed his arms and prepared to give her a lecture on the importance of returning before bedtime, he'd been talking to her _cat _for Merlin's sake.

The lecture died on his lips when it wasn't Hermione, but Potter who stepped out of the fire. In his arms was an unconscious and pale Hermione.

Draco lunged forward and took his wife from the unresisting moron's arms. Holding Hermione gave Draco the added advantage of being unable to punch Potter within an inch of his life, a situation that was a legitimate danger at the moment.

"What's happened?" He demanded in a voice the threatened pain and dismemberment if he didn't immediately receive answers – and they better be good ones.

Hermione was frighteningly lifeless as Draco moved over to the sofa and set her down. He scanned her form with his eyes, checking for injuries, but he didn't seem to find any. As he smoothed her hair back, he noticed there was blood in it, but he couldn't find a wound. His accusing eyes turned once again to Potter, who seemed to be watching him with something akin to shock instead of giving _answers._

"Ron was visiting me when she showed up and I wasn't there. I was only gone for a few minutes, but that was more than enough time for Ron to bash her over the head with a paperweight and knock her out."

Draco's face was murderous. "Where's the Weasel now?"

"St. Mungo's, I brought him there when I brought Hermione. He was ranting about how 'it's all her fault that his life is in shambles'... He needs the help."

"The shambles his life has become have nothing to do with Hermione," Draco snapped. He glanced down at his unconscious wife and smoothed her hair out of her face again. "Is she going to be all right?"

Scarhead nodded. "They said just let her rest for a while, and that someone should wake her up every hour tonight just to make sure she's fine."

Crookshanks chose that moment to launch himself at Harry's feet in an orange blur of pointy bits, shredding his pants and some of the skin underneath. The feline was upset that the messy-hair one had let his mistress get hurt. She wasn't petting him and he was in the room, something was seriously wrong with her. The messy-hair one was just lucky that the lions were busy shredding an expensive pillow in the other room or he'd be walking away with much worse than shredded pants – he wouldn't be walking.

The Gryffindor looked down at the cat sadly. "They've turned you against me have they? Don't worry, I'm leaving."

Harry shot one more glance at Hermione before he disappeared into the flames once more. He'd been wary about leaving his friend with her husband at first, but Malfoy had obviously been very worried about her, Harry actually believed that the snarky blonde would take good care of Hermione.

When Crookshanks was sure Harry was gone, he walked over to the couch and placed his front paws on the seat so he could nose Hermione's cheek. His findings seemed to be satisfactory because his fluffed up fur flattened a little and he looked at Draco expectantly. Why wasn't she in her bed where she should be sleeping?

"I'm assuming you want me to take her to her bed?" The blonde asked the cat. He paled a little when the cat nodded its head. It was well past bedtime and Draco was worried he was starting to hallucinate. Nevertheless, he slipped an arm behind Hermione's knees and one behind her back and carried her to her bed.

The lions were waiting on the bed when Draco nudged her door open with his foot, the bits of fluff from a deceased pillow scattered around them. One meow from his orange companion and the bed was empty.

Draco gently laid Hermione down on the soft pillows and looked at her sadly, she was so pale...

It was with immense relief that he saw she was shifting around in the blankets to make herself more comfortable amongst the pillows. He had been greatly disturbed by her still-as-death appearance, so it was nice to see that she was moving again, even if the movements were only minute adjustments.

Watching her carefully, he slowly lowered himself down to the bed beside her – there really wasn't a point sleeping in his own room when he was going to have to wake her up every hour all night.

So great was his relief that Hermione was fine, Draco didn't even scowl at the orange demon when it settled in the warm space between their two bodies. The fur-ball had been worried as well, so Draco was willing to let it on the bed with him just this once. However, his relief wasn't so great that he wasn't glad the lions decided to stay on the floor.

He set his wand to wake him up in an hour, laid back, and went to sleep almost immediately.


	10. Free the Elves!

**Chapter 9: Free the Elves!**

**A/N: Blaise's little invention in this chapter was actually something my dad suggested I make to freak out my roommate who was always saying 'kill me now' when she got a cold. I thought it was brilliant of him.**

**As always, thanks to harrypotterluver123 for betaing!**

**Never try and work on an essay in the Laundromat... You'll only end up staring vacantly at the circling laundry as it spins in the dryers or going over chapters of fanfiction so you can post it when you get back to your apartment where there's internet. *sigh* At least I finished half of the thing before I gave up...**

**~Frosty**

A buzzing sound woke Draco from what had been a lovely dream. The happiness he had felt in his sleep lingered into waking as he slowly registered where he was and then remembered why he was in Hermione's room.

Worriedly, he turned towards the sleeping brunette to find that she was already awake and watching him.

"Why're you in my bed?" She asked sleepily. It was obvious that she wasn't overly concerned about his presence there, just a little confused and curious. Draco was glad his presence didn't anger her, he wasn't sure if he was up for facing an angry Hermione and carnivorous fish at the moment.

"I have to wake you up every hour, Weasley hit you over the head and you have a bit of a concussion."

She processed that for a moment before nodding. "Harry wasn't there when I went to say sorry..."

"_That's _what you're concerned about?"

She nodded.

"Has anyone ever told you that you need to sort out your priorities?" He groaned.

"Yes, actually." Her head tilted slightly to the side as she observed him. "You're more like my friends than you like to think." Her eyes lost some of their teasing spark when she remembered that she could hardly count Ron as a friend anymore.

Draco frowned at her. "I'm going to pretend it's your head injury talking and not you. You seem to think that's a compliment."

She was infuriating with her kindness sometimes. The woman had been bashed over the head and she was concerned that she hadn't been able to apologise properly. He was silent while he looked her over for a moment, glad to find that she seemed completely fine. Her concern for her own well-being was obviously seriously lacking. Draco's desire to murder the Weasel only intensified when he realized that she was more saddened by the redhead's actions against her instead of enraged like she should have been.

He could see her eyes shining at him, reflecting the little light in the room. Though her cinnamon irises were slightly clouded with sleep and the head injury she'd recently suffered, her stare was enough to make him feel uncomfortable.

"Go back to sleep," he ordered gruffly, laying back down and rolling so his back was to her. It may have been childish of him, but it was the easiest way to avoid that stare of hers.

Hermione's head hurt, but she didn't think it was anything serious. She didn't doubt Draco's word that he was supposed to wake her up every hour, but she also suspected that he may have joined her in bed only partly for convenience and partially to reassure himself that she was fine. It was sweet of him to care – surprising as well. Draco had a lot of kindness in him –she could see that now- and his parents had done everything they could to stamp it out and make him just like them.

Smiling slightly, she shifted over in the bed until her front was pressed up tight against his back. Hermione had a suspicion she was going to test. He tensed, but when she wrapped her arm around him snugly, the tension seemed to melt away.

"What're you doing?" He asked quietly, appearing afraid to scare her away by talking too loudly.

Hermione placed a quick kiss on the back of his neck. "Thanking you for caring."

Her mouth quirked into a grin when he tensed all over again at the contact of her lips. "Go to sleep Draco," she echoed his earlier words back at him.

It didn't take long for him to relax again, and soon, his breathing had evened out and he was asleep.

The Gryffindor was proud of herself; she'd been right about him. Draco would never admit it, but he was seriously starved for affection – which wasn't surprising considering who his parents were. He probably wasn't accustomed to physical affection that didn't precede or follow sex, and he would never admit it, but he craved it. She would never tell him about her little discovery, but Hermione decided right then that she was going to go out of her way to try and show him some of the affection he was missing.

She drifted off to sleep while still holding onto him tightly.

Several times that night Draco woke her up, and every time, she held onto him as they went back to sleep. She allowed him to think it was for her own comfort after being attacked, which was probably what he was telling himself.

Because neither of them were allowed a prolonged period of sleep all night, they were both too exhausted to wake up at their normal hour and slept in by quite a bit.

Neither of the sleeping figures noticed when the door cracked open and someone poked their head into the room. Crookshanks had long since shot them disgusted looks for not waking up and feeding him when he'd come into the room and stepped all over the pair. The cat had left them to their slumber, going off to find an elf to feed him and the lions.

"Let me guess, 'it's not what it looks like'?" Blaise asked in an amused voice.

Having long ago learned that it was a bad idea to remain asleep while Blaise was in the room and awake, Draco's eyes snapped open. He glanced down at the brunette in his arms that had somehow come to clutch tightly to him while burying her face in his neck. Sometime in the night he'd rolled over to face her and hug her to him like she was doing for him.

The blonde shushed his friend and carefully extracted himself from the Gryffindor, who seemed quite determined to stay close to his warmth, even in her sleep.

"What are you doing here?" He demanded in a quiet hiss, not wanting to wake his wife.

Blaise donned an innocent-looking grin. "I can't just come visit my best mate?"

Draco grabbed his friend and dragged him out into the corridor, where they could talk at more normal volume levels.

"Not without some ulterior motives."

"I'm deeply wounded that you have so little faith in our friendship."

"Blaise, cut the shite and get to the point of your visit before we both grow old." Draco growled, wanting nothing more to get back into the comfortable bed he'd been forced to vacate. If he was being honest with himself –which he refused to do- then he would admit that Hermione _may _have influenced his desire to get back into bed as fast as possible.

The Italian pouted. "You're just bitter I caught you in a compromising position with your wife – again."

Draco sighed, feeling defeated. It was just so hard to _hate _her. And he'd been so _worried _when she hadn't come home last night.

"Blaise," the blonde groaned, falling too heavily into a chair to be considered anything near graceful. "I think you're going to have to kill me before she does. I can't take another night pacing the floor and waiting for her to come back while picturing the horrible things that could have happened to her. It's torture."

The Italian perked up in his seat. "I've been waiting for you to ask me for years, ever since I found this helpful little spell..." He waved his wand and a large, game show wheel appeared. Listed around the edges were various possible deaths, all of the gruesome, some of them disturbingly creative. Draco was particularly worried by the 'trampled by spontaneous stampede' and 'crushed in avalanche' options. Blaise had put a lot of thought and care into murdering his best mate.

The blonde stared at his friend, unsure how he was supposed to react to something like that. "Blaise... why do you have a literal wheel of deaths?"

The dark Slytherin look inordinately proud of himself. "Isn't it great?" He patted a rounded side of the wheel proudly.

"Blaise," Draco said slowly, "I know I've told you that you need therapy, but you should seriously consider it. Before you hurt someone."

The darker Slytherin snorted. "Says the one who refuses to admit that he loves his wife."

"Once again, _why _are you here?" Draco asked, choosing to ignore the comment about the 'l' word.

"You look knackered mate," Blaise hedged, not fooling Draco one bit.

The blonde's mercurial eyes bore into his friend until the other man's teasing expression dropped.

"Fine. I was visiting St. Mungos and I heard some of the Mediwitches taking, they said Potter carried Hermione in there unconscious."

"You've got a soft spot for her, haven't you?" Draco grinned at his friend. "Wait... what were you doing at St. Mungos in the first place."

"That's none of your business," Blaise said, actually _blushing_.

Immediately, Draco's eyebrows rose so high that they disappeared behind his fringe. "In case you've forgotten, we're Slytherins, _everything _is our business unless it's boring and not scandalous in the least."

"Just this once, let it drop." Blaise pleaded. "I'll tell you eventually, I promise."

"Whatever. Hermione's fine. Can I go back to bed now?"

_Never let it be said that I'm a bad friend _Draco thought, rather proud of himself for doing something almost 'nice' by not pushing Blaise to share what he was doing at the hospital that was so embarrassing – he didn't even have any plans of snooping around to find out. Of course, he was immediately horrified because he'd done something nice. Maybe Gryffindor kindness was _contagious _like some sort of _disease. _That was a scary thought.

Satisfied that Hermione was going to be fine, Blaise left again before Draco changed his mind and insisted that he share what he was trying to hide.

Draco watched him leave, a little bemused. Hermione seemed to have a knack for capturing the hearts of Slytherins – not that he was admitting that she had his heart. Maybe she'd thawed it a little, but she wasn't in possession of it by any stretch. At the rate she was collecting hearts, his parents might be the next ones to decide Hermione was someone worth caring about. He shook his head and chucked a little to himself for the absurd direction his thoughts had taken – it was obvious that he needed more sleep.

When he opened the door to the Gryffindor in question's bedroom, he found that she had stayed deeply asleep in his absence. Her hair had somehow cascaded across both her own pillow and the one he had been using. The soft, fluffy mass looked like it had a mind of its own and was planning to take over the entire bed.

He jolted and nearly let out a very undignified 'eep' when his wand started to vibrate, warning him that it had been an hour since Hermione had last been awake and it was time to wake her up again.

Perching on the edge of the bed, Draco gently smoothed her hair off of her face, revelling in the cool softness of the silky strands. Sure his hair was soft, but there was just something about hers that was just begging to be _touched. _

He whipped his hand back when she sleepily blinked open her eyes at him.

"Ron hit me..." She said sadly the moment she was awake.

"He did," Draco agreed in a monotone, not letting his own feelings on the incident show.

"I wasn't entirely unconscious when I fell down, Ron was very upset that I'd been offered a place on his favourite team when I couldn't even fly and he'd been passed over. And Lavender lost the baby and left him. He said everything bad in his life was my fault."

Draco sighed. She was obviously distraught and he wasn't able to do anything to comfort her – he didn't really know_how_.

She settled her dilemma by throwing her arms around him and burying her face in his neck. The tears that were burning her eyes didn't fall, but she knew it wouldn't take much for her to lose the tenuous control she'd maintained. Loving Ron had been something so natural to her for so long – sure she'd been experiencing doubts recently and wasn't sure she wanted to marry him, but for him to suddenly turn on her the way he had spoken of problems much deeper than mere insecurity. She hoped Ron was getting the help he needed so he could one day be her friend again.

The blonde awkwardly patted her on the back. "Um... Don't be sad?"

Hermione let out a quiet chuckle, ticking his neck with the puff of air. It was a completely pathetic attempt at cheering her up, but she had a feeling comforting wasn't something he did frequently, so it was touching that for her he was trying.

"Thank you," she told him, pulling away to give him his space once again. She hadn't forgotten that she was going to show him more physical affection, but she didn't want to scare him off by getting clingy and reminding him of Pansy.

Draco raised an inquisitive eyebrow. "For...?"

"For being here for me."

She hopped from the bed, glad that her cold seemed to have disappeared overnight and her head injury had been reduced to a manageable headache. Before Draco could think of something to say to ruin the moment of her gratitude, she left the room, stopping only to grab her knitting. She had a rebellion to begin.

The kitchens were busy at this hour, bustling with activity as the elves raced back and forth throughout the large room as they made dinner for the four humans in the house as well as themselves.

Hermione grabbed herself a chair and stepped on top of it, further elevating herself over the already short elves. "Can I have your attention please?" She asked.

The Gryffindor may not have been a Pureblood, but she was married to a Malfoy, making the elves more than willing to cater to her every whim. If the crazy lady wanted to get up on a chair to talk to them, then it was their duty to listen to whatever insanity followed the mounting of the chair.

"Your time of oppression has come to an end! No longer will I allow the atrocity of slavery to exist in the place I call home!" Hermione got off the chair to reach for the large, lumpy bag that contained all the hats she'd knitted. "If you would just form an orderly line, I have a hat for every one of you."

Every elf in the room immediately burst into tears. "You is freeing us?" They wailed, almost as one.

Hermione frowned at them. Didn't they realize that their lives could be so much better if they'd only accept her offer of clothing?

"You don't understand how much better your life could be," she started, only to be interrupted by a collective hiss of disapproval from the gathered magical creatures.

"We is plenty happy crazy lady." One elf near the front told her.

Hermione sighed. They'd obviously been brainwashed. She accepted that it was going to take her some time to get through to them, but that didn't mean she wasn't going to put her full effort into the first try.

"You could get payment and vacation time, a chance for retirement."

She was met with a room of vacant eyes that were rapidly clouding over with hostility.

* * *

Hours later, Draco walked past Hermione's room and saw something immensely confusing; was that _mashed potatoe s_on the floor? Curious, he stopped walking and stared down at the little lump of white. His suspicion that it was potatoes was only strengthened by the trio of what could only be peas not far down the hall from that.

Something was telling him that Hermione hadn't been as successful with the elves as she'd hoped. He smirked and pushed the door open, hoping to find her and laugh at whatever they'd done – he knew it wasn't something too serious, as the elves were gentle creatures by nature.

He did his best not to laugh when he finally caught sight of the mess that was Hermione. She was splattered with various types of food and looked completely miserable while she sat at her desk and scribbled furiously.

"I take it the elves were more set in their ways than you'd anticipated?" Draco asked, trying not to laugh.

Hermione sighed sadly. "I'm only trying to do what's best for them and they threw _food _at me! I'm actually banned from the kitchen!" She stopped her writing and turned in her chair to face him.

"When your parents told you 'we're only doing this for your own good' were you ever happy about it?" He asked, eyebrows raised in an amused question.

Hermione actually stuck out her bottom lip in a petulant pout. "No," she muttered, hating he was right. Why did he get to laugh at her _and _be smug because he had a good point?

"Parents can be wrong when they say those things though, I'm right about this." She insisted.

The blonde's mercury eyes gave her a strange look. What was his problem? The colour drained from her face when he glanced down at his left arm before covering his forearm protectively. Oh. His parents had made him join the Death Eaters 'for his own good'?

"Draco, it's not your fault that you were forced to take the mark..." She trailed off in the face of the glare he was directing at her. It was so fierce she was surprised that she didn't burst into flame. None of them liked being reminded of the war, but he didn't have to lash out at her like that.

"Despite what you like to think, you don't know anything. I don't need you to try and absolve me of crimes I know I committed." He snapped with more venom than he'd intended.

Hermione crossed her arms over her food-covered chest and stood up so the Slytherin wouldn't have such a height advantage. "I'd know if you told me."

All the anger seemed to fall away from him at her comment. "I don't want to talk about it."

"You don't have to. But if you ever need to talk, I promise I'll listen." She patted his shoulder as she passed him, on her way out of the room to go have a shower. The ideas on how to get the House Elves to see reason could wait; the potatoes in her shirt were starting to get itchy.

Draco wiped the potatoes off his shoulder and stared after her with an unreadable expression. People just assumed that he was fine with what had happened during the war, no one had bothered to ask him to talk about it. It was... nice to know that someone was there should be a need to discuss the things he'd experienced.


	11. Sunshine and Shocking Cold

**Chapter 10: Sunshine and Shocking Cold**

**A/N: Okay, the majority of this chapter can be blamed on my desire for summer to get here already! *sigh* I'm warning you now, this chapter is mostly shameless fluff (not that I don't usually write pretty fluffy stuff). Wouldn't it be nice to be able to go to the beach again? To anyone who can right now, I'm immensely jealous. (It'll probably be warmer when I post this, but know that while I'm writing this, it's COLD outside and there's SNOW on the ground.**

**As always, thanks to harrypotterluver123 for betaing! And thanks to everyone who reviewed! You guys always make me smile.**

**~Frosty**

After the little incident in the kitchens, Hermione realized that she was going to have to change her tactics if she wanted to get anywhere with the elves. Every morning, she made sure to leave her bag of hats in the kitchens, even though it reappeared in her room every afternoon.

As the summer wore on and the cooling charms that kept the Manor a comfortable temperature started to fail in the hot kitchens, the elves got more and more impatient with her. It got to the point where even stepping foot into the kitchen was risking being pelted with food projectiles for Hermione. She just couldn't understand why they refused to see reason!

"We no want the hats!" An angry elf said to Hermione as she tried to bring the bag of hats into the kitchen once more. The elf's hands were propped up on her skinny little hips as she glared furiously at the much larger witch.

Hermione huffed, but turned and left with the bag. At this point, her attempts to free the elves of the Manor were just out of habit, she didn't have much hope that she'd actually be able to convince them of anything. She had realized that there was another way to go about freeing the elves; changing the laws regarding the creatures to ensure better treatment would be almost as good as actually freeing them. Focusing on this avenue seemed to be more likely to yield happy results.

The job she was set to begin at the end of the summer was the perfect place to start with her new ideas for laws. The parchment that was filled with her ideas for new reforms was over three feet long and completely covered in her cramped, tiny writing. Things were going to change for the better once she was in her office or she wasn't Hermione Granger... er, Malfoy.

The brunette used her foot to push her bedroom door open and sighed as she threw the bag of hats onto the floor. Through the window by her bed, she could see the lions and Crookshanks relaxing in the shade out in the garden.

When the felines had first ventured outside, Hermione had been worried that the dragon was going to hurt or even eat them, but her worries turned out to be for nothing. Crookshanks had taken one look at the large lizard, puffed out all his fur so he was twice his size and then glared his most ferocious glare at the dragon.

Cupcake hadn't taken the cat's glares and growls seriously, so he had tried to snap up the cat in his huge jaws. The half-Kneazle, in a moment of Gryffindor-like bravery, had whacked the dragon across the snout with his sharp claws out while hissing loudly.

If Cupcake hadn't been so terrifying, it would have been an amusing sight to see him recoil from the small cat and regard it with a respect he had yet to show to another living creature. After that little incident Crookshanks and the lions had been able to roam the grounds freely, unbothered by the dragon that liked to attempt to hide his bulk behind ornamental shrubberies and glare at the felines from a safe distance.

"Pack your bags," Draco said, startling Hermione. He swaggered into her room and flopped down on the bed, reclining regally with his arms behind his head.

"Why?" Hermione asked when her pounding heart had calmed a little. Blasted sneaky Slytherins and their quiet footsteps. She was willing to bet that their robes were charmed not to rustle just so they could sneak up on people and lurk in dark corners unnoticed.

"Because it's bloody hot here. I refuse to endure this heat wave without being next to the ocean."

"So where're we going?" Hermione asked, knowing Draco's temper was getting frayed by the heat just like everyone else's seemed to be. It was obvious that he needed a break, and she still refused to relieve his tension in the manner Daphne had suggested. The brunette knew she could do with a break as well.

"We're going to my summer house in Greece."

"I can't leave, the House Elves..." Her protest was mostly just superficial for the sake of protesting, it wouldn't do for her to just start agreeing with his demands.

"Listen to me you barmy Gryffindor!"

Hermione snapped her mouth shut and looked askance at Draco. Despite his volatile nature in school, he actually didn't snap at her all that frequently.

"The elves aren't on the verge of striking because they want better treatment; they're on the verge of striking because they want you to stop knitting them the damn hats! The only reason we still _have _any elves is that we promised them that clothes from you don't count towards freedom."

She glared, but his words rang true. It wasn't like she was getting anywhere with the Elves anyway... She knew she should be furious that he'd undermined her efforts with the elves, but it was something she'd come to expect from him.

Draco brought his arms from where they'd been resting behind his head and crossed them over his chest. "Are you going to give up on freeing the elves?"

Hermione sighed and rolled her eyes. "I'll stop trying to give them hats."

She knew that it didn't escape Draco's notice that she hadn't ruled out the possibility of finding another way to free the elves, but he didn't press the matter, knowing that was as good as he was going to get.

His posture relaxed slightly as the fight he'd been preparing for didn't happen. He nodded sharply. "Good. Now get to packing."

Bristling, Hermione opened her mouth to snap at him for ordering her around, but Draco saw her reaction and beat her to the punch.

"Do you really want to stay here in the Manor with my parents in a foul mood because of the heat? We could go to the ocean, think of the beach." He said persuasively.

Once again, Hermione rolled her eyes. "Let me guess: all three of you have your own summer houses so you don't have to spend any more time than necessary with each other?"

He grinned. "You're starting to understand. Now pack your bags, I want to be out of here as soon as possible."

The blond sat on her bed to watch and make sure his wife did what he's asked. She huffed at him for ordering her around, but she grudgingly complied. The idea of a vacation was a good one, and Hermione was excited about getting out of the Manor. Even more appealing was the idea of a trip to the ocean and a break from the oppressive heat.

She summoned a suitcase from her closet with magic and then sat beside Draco on the bed while she used her wand to sift through her clothing and select an array of sundresses and a few bathing suits – anything she deemed appropriate for the beach.

Draco scowled when he caught sight of the swimwear she intended to bring. "You're going to wear _that_? My grandmother has bathing suits more revealing that that," he shuddered at the memory of his grandmother the one time he'd seen her in a bathing suit.

The blond waved his wand to make the offensive swimwear burst into flame. "There, now we need to go shopping when we get to Greece. You desperately need something to wear if you're going to fully appreciate the private beach there." He ignored Hermione's glare and looked her up and down appraisingly. "Unless, of course, you want to swim naked."

The brunette made a mental note to make him pay for burning her bathing suits. She added to the list revenge for when he would probably insist on bikinis while they were shopping for replacements. Stupid prat, thinking he was always going to get his way just because he manipulated events in his favour most of the time.

Crookshanks trotted into the room and happily settled on top of the pile of clothes in the suitcase. Hermione shot Draco a look, but he knew what she was going to ask and was already shaking his head.

"There's no way we're taking the orange demon and his evil sidekicks."

Crookshanks hissed at the blond and jumped from the suitcase to stalk across the bed towards him, attempting to be threatening. The cat understood much more than a normal feline sometimes, it was disturbing.

"No," Draco said again, this time to the cat. He'd long since stopped worrying that he was insane when he talked to the animal, it knew too much. Sometimes he swore the thing could read minds.

Hermione laughed, it was cute when Draco talked to the feline. He frowned towards her and picked up the cat, setting him down on the floor where he wouldn't interfere with Hermione's packing – she was taking too long without the added distraction.

"He's not coming with us. Isn't there some kind of Muggle laws about taking pets out of the country?"

Her eyebrows drew together as she realized that he was right. Hermione scooped her pet off the floor and hugged him to her chest, knowing she wasn't going to be able to take him with her. Stupid international laws; it'd be easier to hate them if she didn't see the logic in them.

"Sorry Crooks," she mumbled into his fur before setting him down once again. He gave her a reproachful look for listening to the blond one over him, her beloved and loyal pet. When noticed she wasn't paying him enough attention, he wandered out of the room again to find someone who'd pay him the attention he so deserved.

Draco was smug as he watched her finish packing her bag. Not only was he going to have a vacation away from his parents, but those felines that liked to bother him weren't going to come with him either. And he was going to get away from the bloody dragon; he refused to admit it, but the thing was starting to drive him mental, what with the setting things on fire and constantly trying to escape to the nearest Muggle village to wreak havoc on the townspeople.

As soon as she was done packing, Draco held out his arm, smirking victoriously at her. He loved getting his way, and convincing others to go along with his plans was just the icing on the Slytherin cake.

With a little smile for the blond in response to his smug look, Hermione accepted the arm he'd offered and let him Apparate them to their vacation home.

* * *

The house seemed to be made up almost entirely of windows framed by gauzy white curtains that flowed as the cool sea breeze blew inside. She immediately dropped Draco's arm and rushed to the nearest window in excitement. It was facing out over a sandy beach and clear blue water of the ocean beyond that sparkled at her in the bright summer sun.

"It's beautiful here," Hermione whispered in awe, turning to beam at Draco, who quickly hid the affectionate look he'd been directing at her. Her childish excitement over something he'd taken for granted since he was young was very endearing.

She desperately wanted to go splash around in the water, but didn't have anything to wear for it - a situation that was _entirely _her conniving husband's fault.

Draco accurately interpreted the glare she shot in his direction. "The only way I'm agreeing to shopping is if I get the final say in the swimwear."

Hermione crossed her arms and cringed when she pictured something made primarily of bits of string and tiny scraps of fabric that Draco was likely to insist upon.

"Fine."

The blond grinned victoriously at her reluctant agreement.

She held up a finger before he could look too triumphant. "Provided whatever you choose covers my entire butt, is a one-piece, and is something I can safely bend over in without fear of... falling out of it."

Draco didn't look any less triumphant than he previously had, which should have worried her, but she _really _wanted to go swimming and fighting him on what she wore while doing that was going to take too long. If what he chose was overly-bad, then she could always just attempt to transfigure something – though her skills at transfiguring clothes weren't the best, her creations usually turned out horrible looking.

The sundress she'd been wearing at the Manor was still appropriate for the weather, so she once again accepted Draco's arm and let him Apparate the both of them to an expensive boutique. The git was going to get too used to leading her around if she wasn't careful, but she was going to spend the day on the _beach _and she just couldn't bring herself to worry at the moment.

Hermione ran her eyes over the swimsuits on display and turned back to the blond with a glare. "I can't wear _any _of these."

Draco didn't even look at her, instead turning his quicksilver eyes to scan the racks. "I believe I have the final say in what you wear."

He grabbed a salesgirl as she passed. "You. Get me something for my wife. It has to cover her entire ass, hold her chest in place and the top has to be connected to the bottom."

She nodded and darted away. Hermione watched with horror as the girl selected several suits that only counted as one-piece because of the thin band of material connecting the two halves. The pleading look she shot Draco was completely pointless; he was browsing the racks nearest to them and not even looking in her direction. Even if he had been paying attention to her, she had the sneaking suspicion that he wouldn't have cared that she was begging with her eyes to please leave the place.

"These should fit you," the salesgirl said, looking Hermione up and down critically before she thrust an armful of suits at the former Gryffindor and dragging her to a fitting-room. Draco added a few to the pile and pushed her inside the room. He settled down into a chair and watched to make sure Hermione didn't escape.

The harmless click of the door shouldn't have sounded like a death sentence to the brunette, but it did. She surveyed the pile of suits with chagrin and selected one that looked like it would cover the most skin, removed her clothes with great reluctance and slid it on with even more.

She glanced in the mirror and scowled, there was _entirely _too much flesh showing.

"Don't you dare take that off without showing me what it looks like first," Draco called from the other side of the door. His voice made his amusement at her discomfort abundantly clear.

"That wasn't part of the deal," Hermione snapped.

"Don't make me come in there." He was having entirely too much fun with her misery.

Knowing that he was completely serious with his threat – he'd probably relish the task, made all-the-more appealing by her mortification and embarrassment. With one last worried glance at herself in the mirror, Hermione reluctantly opened the door.

Draco raised his eyebrows and wrinkled his nose. "I'm more than happy to see you bearing some skin for once, but that bathing suit makes you look like you're about to burst out of the top."

With a squeak of mortification Hermione fled back into the changing room. The entire experience was humiliating. She promised herself that pain and suffering were in the future for the blond.

"Try the green one I picked." He called.

"_Try the green one_," Hermione mocked in a poor imitation of Draco's deeper voice, but she obeyed nonetheless.

The only green suit in the pile wasn't a Slytherin green as she'd been expecting, it was a sage green with circles of gold metal holding the scraps of material together.

"There's no way I'm wearing this, one good wave and I'd be naked!"

"It'll cover more than you'd think, just put the damn thing on before we all get old and you'll be too saggy to make that thing look good."

Pursing her lips in irritation, Hermione slipped into the suit. If this one didn't fit, she was only going to try on _one _more; she could swim in a t-shirt and shorts or something.

Surprisingly, Malfoy was right and the little scraps of fabric actually covered everything that she'd specified. He was going to be insufferable about being right – he always was.

She reluctantly opened the change-room door and peeked outside.

Draco was looking in her direction and noticed her eyes peeking through the crack at him. He raised his eyebrows at her reluctance to come out and curled his fingers in a beckoning gesture.

With a sigh, she opened the door and stepped out, feeling exposed under his gaze.

Draco grinned and stood up to get a closer look.

"What do you think?" Hermione asked. She already liked the suit and was going to buy it whether he approved or not, but he'd been right about the last one, so she wanted his opinion.

"I approve of this one." He said, looking her up and down. She missed the darkened look in his molten silver eyes.

Placing his hands on her bare shoulders, Draco turned her to get a look at the back of the suit.

Hermione shivered as he dragged his fingertips across the exposed skin of her back to straighten out the straps that had gotten a little bit tangled. He was too close and his breath was fanning across the back of her neck, not helping with the goose-bumps that were rapidly spreading there.

"Can I help you with anything else?" The saleslady asked a little too loudly, startling the both of them.

Hermione jumped away from Draco like they'd been doing something wrong. She fled into to the change-room while Draco sent a death-glare at the woman who had interrupted them.

"I'd like two more of the style that she just had on in different colours." He ordered, mostly to get rid of the woman.

Hermione came out of the change-room just as the saleslady came back with the other colours. She looked askance at Draco but he just took them from the woman and shrugged.

"Pack those two up and send them to the Malfoy vacation home. We're going to be taking the green one with us." The blond ordered, passing over a handful of gold.

Hermione's eyes widened; she hadn't been looking at the price tags, but she hadn't thought bathing-suits could be _that _expensive.

She would have objected that he was spending so much money on her, but then she remembered that his only job was to watch his piles of gold grow bigger. He wasn't going to give in on the subject, so she would only be prolonging her time away from the beach by arguing. Besides, the prat could afford it.

When he finished paying and held out his arm to Apparate back she rolled her eyes at his insistence to control the situation, but accepted the arm for the third time that day. She knew it was considered proper for him to escort her places, but she was more than capable of finding her own way.

The moment they popped back into the vacation house, Hermione bolted into the loo to put on her new suit.

Draco watched with an amused smile as she bolted back out of the loo, right past him and down the stairs, heading towards the beach.

"Hermione, you can't go swimming in the ocean without someone there. Isn't there a Muggle rule for a buddy system or something?"

She didn't slow her run to the water. "Then hurry up and put on your swim-trunks!"

Draco swore a little as he rushed to get his pants off. The woman was going to get eaten by a shark or pulled down by an undertow or something if he wasn't there. It occurred to him that he may be worrying a little too much about someone who was more than capable of taking care of herself, but she was so _reckless _sometimes while still seeming innocent, it made him want to look out for her.

When he found her, she was up to her knees in the water and smiling radiantly. The sun was picking up the gold in her hair and the metal rings on her suit were reflecting the beams, making her literally sparkle. She was beautiful and it momentarily took his breath away.

Hermione caught sight of Draco just standing on the beach looking like a moron while he stared at her with his mouth open slightly. What was his problem? Maybe the sun was getting through his pale skin and frying his brain.

Subtly, she cast a very strong sun-blocking charm on him, but he didn't seem to snap out of his trance. Nope, that wasn't what was his problem was.

Well, there was another way to shock him out of whatever it was that was happening to him. Turning away from him with a secret smile, she dove under the water. When she was good and wet, covered in the cold water, she stumbled to the shore and threw her arms around him.

"That's _cold_!" He yelled in shock, not actually pulling away from her.

Hermione laughed at his reaction. Her skin was cold and clammy from her dip in the water, but he was still nice and sun-warmed. She made sure to press as much of her skin to his as possible. Between them, they were a comfortable temperature.

"Two can play at your little game," he teased, putting an arm behind her knees and one around her back and lifting her into his arms.

Hermione screeched and wrapped her arms around his neck so she didn't fall, but she kicked her legs to try and get him to put her down. She knew what he was planning, and it was going to be _cold._

He dropped her in the water when he was waist-deep and a splashing war ensued as she sought her revenge. Maybe the vacation was just what they'd needed after all. They spent the day laughing and splashing until the sun set and it got entirely too cold to be outside and wet.


	12. How Could Something So Delicious Ever

**Chapter 11: How Could Something So Delicious Ever Be Bad?**

**A/N: I'm glad I could make some people long for summer just as much as I do! *sigh* I wish it were here. On the bright side: the weather's warming up!**

**As always, thanks to harrypotterluver123 for betaing! And thanks to everyone who reviewed, favourited, alerted, etc!**

**Okay, I've been told that this chapter isn't working. So in case you've received the chapter alert twice, sorry about that, but it was the only thing I could think of to try and make it work. If it doesn't I suppose waiting is the only thing that can be done. Sorry about that.  
**

**~Frosty**

"Really? This huge house and there's only one bed?" Hermione asked in exasperation. Not even a guest bedroom. It was insane.

Draco just shrugged. "Nope, it was a three bedroom when we bought it, but I had the first guest bedroom changed into a study and the other was going to be a library so I'd have something to read over the summers."

"I'd tell you that was a stupid idea considering you may one day have guests, but they're both practical changes..." Hermione couldn't exactly object to him wanting more room to do work and a place to put a whole bunch of books, they were changes after her own tastes.

"Just shut up and get into bed." Draco sighed, exhausted from the splashing around they'd done all day. He was still a little irritated that she'd managed to best him by throwing her arms around his knees and sitting on top of him in the shallow water until he'd managed to free himself, gasping. The woman had obviously been trying to drown him.

Hermione had been pacing back and forth at the end of the bed for a good while, upset that there were no secret beds hidden in the house where she could sleep. Alone.

"It's not like you haven't slept with me before," he said. It was near impossible to sleep while someone was pacing at the end of the bed, so for the good of both of them, he needed her to _stop _before he did something drastic, like stun her and shove her under the bed for the night.

With a sigh, she slid into the bed. An advantage of pacing for so long was that Draco already had the sheets nice and toasty warm from his body heat. She wiggled a little to get comfortable and fell asleep pretty quickly – it had been a long and exhausting day.

* * *

Hermione stretched languidly without opening her eyes, feeling the warm sunlight on her skin and smelling the sea air. Vacations were good... even though she hadn't really started working yet. Sometimes a person just needed to get away and relax.

"What're we going to do today?" Draco mumbled beside her.

She opened her eyes and turned to meet his grey irises. "I wanted to lie on the beach and absorb some sun, but I'm not sure that's a good idea for you..."

"You can just cast another of those extra strength sun-protection charms on me like you did yesterday." He smirked when he saw her surprised expression. "Yes, I noticed. You weren't as sneaky as you thought you were."

"I thought all that sunlight was getting to your brain, you spend all your time lurking the dark halls of your Manor and not enough time outside enjoying the fresh air."

"I spend plenty time outside. I go flying frequently; I just do it early in the morning, before you're awake."

Hermione pondered that for a moment. "Why so early in the morning?"

"Because if you're not awake yet, I don't have to worry about you bringing the house down while I'm gone. Flying is about letting go, not worrying that your wife's going to manage to kill herself, my parents and the damn lions while I'm gone. I even worry you're going to kill the orange demon sometimes."

It was almost sweet... Almost. He seemed to have so little faith in her ability to _not _kill everyone around her. Draco read what she was thinking in her eyes and sighed, not sure how to phrase what he was trying to say.

"I'm just saying that I... worry about you, and if I know you're safe asleep in your bed, then I don't have to worry as much."

It was both touching and amusing the Draco Malfoy seemed to worry about people like a first-time mother worried about her newborn. She hoped he would be like the new mother and learn to relax a little before he gave himself an ulcer from all that stress.

Hermione smiled sweetly. "I'd be a lot safer if there wasn't a dragon in the gardens."

"It's become a point of rebellion for me. Cupcake is staying."

Rolling her eyes, Hermione hopped out of bed. She wrestled her mass of curls into a messy bun and disappeared into the loo to put on her bathing suit again. The entire day was going to be spent basking in the sun and she needed to start before anymore sunlight was wasted.

"Eat something before you go," he called after her. Her tinkling laugh flowed up the stairs. He immediately berated himself for sounding like a nagging mother – not his, but you need to care to nag.

Just in case she decided that swimming was a good idea, he dragged himself out of bed and put his suit on. Sleeping could be done just as easily on the beach. He grabbed a picnic basket on his way out and dumped the fruit bowl from the table into it, hoping they wouldn't turn out to be wax or fake fruit.

They were both laying on the beach later –Draco under a large umbrella Hermione had conjured for him- when an owl landed on the handle of the picnic basket. It held out a letter for them to take.

Worriedly, Hermione looked over at Draco. "How many people know we're here?" She asked.

"The only people who know how to reach us are my parents and they're not exactly the type to send social letters."

He watched as she reached out a tanned arm and accepted the letter from the owl. It immediately flew away, not waiting for an answer. The poor, nocturnal creature probably wasn't very happy to be outside in the hot, bright sunlight.

When she paled and fell back against the blanket she'd been resting on, Draco snatched the letter and read it over, wondering what news could make Hermione react in such a way.

_Children,_

_Something's gone wrong. I don't know what it is, but there's been an attack in Muggle London. Now, despite my contempt for Muggles and everything they represent, the Grangers aren't completely horrible. They're currently in St. Mungos. You should probably visit them. _

_Narcissa_

Well, at least she hadn't kept her mouth shut until they got back from their vacation. Draco was a little bit proud that his mother had bothered to even inform Hermione that her parents were in the hospital. This act of kindness wouldn't have even been an option to consider last year; caring about Muggles was just something that wasn't done.

"Let's go," Draco said. He pulled her to her feet and vanished the blanket, basket and umbrella back to the house, not wanting to waste the time walking inside would take.

She grabbed the arm he offered and they Disapperated to the hospital. So great was her worry that she didn't even notice that once again, he was leading her somewhere when she was perfectly capable of getting herself there.

It wasn't the chaos they had been expecting in the wake of an attack, everyone was calm. The only thing off about the entire picture was the young couple that appeared in the middle of a waiting room in their swimwear.

"I'm looking for the Grangers?" Hermione asked a nearby Mediwitch.

The woman nodded and gave them directions.

Hermione held tightly to Draco's arm as they walked towards the room, drawing comfort from his solid presence and probably putting a few crescents into his skin from her nails. She gave him a worried look as they got to the door the Mediwitch had indicated. Very rarely had she ever faced something more intimidating than that door – or, more importantly, what was on the other side.

The blonde was the one who ended up grabbing the doorknob and he almost immediately regretted it when he saw what had been hidden behind the smooth expanse of wood.

"Dad... what are you doing?" Hermione asked warily.

Her mother was lying in what was obviously a magically induced sleep on a hospital bed while her father leant over her and appeared to be brushing her teeth. Draco was both disgusted and confused; was this normal Muggle behaviour or were the Grangers an exception to the rule? He was betting they were the exception, their daughter wasn't exactly normal.

"Hermione! You're here!" He said, dropping the toothbrush and getting up to embrace his daughter. "I was brushing your mother's teeth, you know how she doesn't like to go more than three hours without brushing."

Draco had edged away from the obviously insane Muggle and watched the happy reunion from the sidelines. As a result, while the other two were chattering away, he was the only one who noticed Mrs. Granger blink her eyes open, spot the toothbrush and then resume the job her husband had started.

She noticed the blonde standing awkwardly off to the side almost immediately and subtly gestured him over to the visitor's chair beside her bed.

"Are you taking good care of my daughter?" She asked.

Draco nodded. "I'm doing my best." He said, and then hesitated before deciding to just ask his question. "What happened to put you in here?"

The woman waved her toothbrush dismissively not looking at all concerned. "It was all a big accident. Apparently, one of the hygienists at our clinic was a witch and hadn't told us. She brought biscuits that she'd made to the office for everyone, but her son had been upset that he couldn't have any and had put strange potion ingredients in them. The whole batch exploded just as I was about to take one out of the tin. I got a rather nasty burn on my hand, but that's about it."

Hermione pulled away from her dad and glanced around the room to see where Draco had gone. When she caught sight of her mum awake and fine, she threw herself on the woman.

"Mum! I'm so glad you're all right!" The woman launched herself at her mother, uncaring that she got a little bit of toothpaste in her hair when Mrs. Granger failed to move the toothbrush out of the way in time.

"Of course I am sweetie."

Hermione buried her face in her mother's hair and burst into tears. She was just so _happy _that both of her parents were fine. Narcissa's letter had been so vague that it could have meant anything; it was her own fault that she'd assumed the worst. She'd fallen into the habit of doing that during the war when there was a good chance that someone she loved was in grave danger at almost all times.

Mrs. Granger made soothing noises to her daughter while Mr. Granger watched his two girls fondly. Draco felt like he was intruding on a private family moment. The whole 'loving family' concept was starting to disturb him. Was this what normal families did in times of near-tragedy? He couldn't help picture his family's reaction to the actual tragedy of the war. They'd all been in shock, but it wasn't the kind with tears, it was the kind where you close yourself off from the people around you. Separately, they'd all been glad they'd survived, but there'd been no hugs and _definitely _no tears.

Sniffling, Hermione wiped her eyes and squeezed her mother one more time before settling into a visitor's chair beside Draco. He started a little when she reached over and squeezed his hand.

When he glanced over at her, she gave him a dazzling smile. It seemed that her relief and happiness that no one was seriously injured spread to everyone in the room.

Both the older Grangers had noticed the little gesture. Hermione's mother smiled the same dazzling smile that Hermione had just shown to Draco at her own husband.

"So, where were you kids that you showed up at the hospital in bathing suits?" Mrs. Granger asked them.

Hermione glanced down at what she was wearing and blushed profusely. Wearing so little was fine for the beach but not anywhere near appropriate for the hospital. Draco was unabashed about how much skin he was showing, but he was wearing a t-shirt with his swim trunks, so he was as covered as most of the other male visitors at the hospital.

He noticed Hermione's embarrassment and rolled his eyes. "Really? _Now _you get embarrassed because you're only wearing a skimpy little bathing suit?"

"I _knew _it was skimpy! You said 'it would cover more than it looks'." Hermione snapped, taking her embarrassment out on the blonde.

"Skimpy for the hospital, not for the beach." He said calmly, reaching for the hem of his shirt and pulling it over his head. He flung the shirt at her face, stopping her from responding with a scathing comment. "There, now I'm the one indecent."

Blushing even more, Hermione pulled the shirt over her head, grateful for the extra cover. It was much too big and came down almost to her knees, almost like a dress. A strange, poorly fitting dress that Draco's personal scent clung to, along with the smell of the wind and waves. She tried her best not to ogle his chest in front of her parents.

Smirking, Draco turned back to the older Grangers, completely unashamed that he was now shirtless. "We were vacationing in Greece." He told them.

"Well what're you two still doing here? Go on. Go back to your vacation!" Her mum made shooing motions with her hands.

"You're sure you're going to be fine?" Hermione asked, looking between her parents. They didn't let on to it, but she knew they worried about her, and she worried about them just as much. She felt like any injury they had from contact with the magical world was her fault for exposing them to it. At least she had magic to defend herself against the dangers of the Wizarding world, they were defenceless.

"Of course honey, just make sure you come visit us."

Hermione nodded and hugged both her parents tightly while Draco waited off to the side and nodded to them. He held out his elbow for the brunette to grab so they could Apparate back. Smiling at everyone in the room, and waving to her parents, she took it. She was starting to get used to letting him Apparate the both of them.

"Well, wasn't that just a nice way to break up the fun," Draco said with heavy sarcasm when they were comfortably in the vacation house once again.

They spent the next week on the beach, lying in the sun –or under an umbrella in Draco's case- and playing in the water. By the time they needed to go back to the Manor, Hermione was thoroughly tanned with sun-bleached streaks of gold sparkling through her hair and even Draco had a touch of colour on his pale skin.

The first thing they saw when they got back to the Manor was Cupcake. They appeared in the foyer, startled to find that the giant, scaly lizard was also in the foyer, crouched _inside _the house. When his big yellow eye caught sight of the pair, he hissed and blew smoke in their direction as a warning to stay back.

"Okay, he's not in the garden anymore, you're going to have to get rid of him." Hermione said, taking in how _stuck _Cupcake looked. She had no idea how he'd even managed to get himself through the front doors. They were large and there were two of them side-by-side, but they didn't look large enough to accommodate the size of the Hungarian Horntail.

Draco wasn't looking at the dragon, he was examining the deep gouges its claws had carved into the marble floor. "Mother's not going to be pleased."

"No she is not," said a cool voice from behind them.

Hermione started and whipped around to see Narcissa watching the dragon warily while glaring at her son. It must have been difficult to grow up with the woman who always seemed to be able to appear when she was mentioned. She was like Voldemort in that sense.

"Draco, it's time to get rid of that monster," the woman ordered.

Her son sighed, but he knew when he was beaten. With a wave of his wand, the dragon was gone.

Hermione peeked outside the open door, expecting to see Cupcake relocated out there until someone could come and take him away, but he wasn't anywhere in sight. She looked back to Draco, a question in her eyes.

"Where'd you send him?"

His quicksilver eyes searched around the room, confused. "I didn't send him anywhere; I shrunk him down to the size of a large rat."

Narcissa looked horrified. "You mean that _thing _is on the loose somewhere in the house?" She immediately whipped out her wand and started pointing it towards random corners, as if the small dragon could jump out at her at any second – and it could.

For hours, every House Elf they employed as well as Narcissa, Draco, Hermione, and even Lucius –once he came back from his vacation home- scoured the entire Manor for the now tiny dragon. Finally, they were forced to retire for the night and hope that he wasn't going to burn the place down while they were sleeping.

Hermione thoroughly searched her room before lying in her bed. Even though the dragon was small, he could still breathe fire and was in possession of numerous pointy bits that could cause quite a bit of damage, particularly if she came across him while she was unsuspecting.

When she couldn't find him in there, she reluctantly settled in her bed.

She was getting to the point where it was strange for her to sleep without Draco there beside her, making her feel entirely too warm in the already too hot weather and waking her up in the middle of the night when he accidently inhaled a strand of her hair and freaked out, thinking he was suffocating.

Eventually, she got tired of tossing and turning, and climbed out of bed. She padded down the hall and cracked Draco's door open. In the faint light from the corridor, she could see a lump in the bed, seeming to be sleeping peacefully.

"Draco?" She whispered, hoping he would wake up, roll his eyes and lift up the blankets in a silent invitation to join him, no questions asked – and no snarky comments about brave Gryffindors being too scared to sleep alone or something.

"Draco?" She tried again, walking into the room and closing her door behind her. Standing still while she allowed her eyes to adjust to the darkness, Hermione listened to the soft breaths of the lump on the bed.

When she could see well enough to walk across the room, she padded quietly to the bed and hesitated, unsure if she would be welcome. Sure, he hadn't really complained while they'd been on vacation, but there was a magic to vacations that had nothing to do with wands, they made people relax and enjoy things they'd normally be too reserved to really enjoy.

"I can _hear _your indecision Hermione. Get into the bed or leave, just stop keeping me up," Draco grumbled, without giving any other indication that he was actually awake.

The brunette started violently, she hadn't thought she had made enough noise to wake him up.

Draco's eyes were much better adjusted to the dark, so he could see clearly as she nearly fell to the floor in shock. Great reflexes on that one... He really did wonder sometimes how she'd survived the war with reactions like those she'd just demonstrated. Though it was possible that she'd just let her defences drop because she felt like she was somewhere safe – which was a strange concept in itself considering where she was.

Hand pressed to her chest to try and slow her frantic heart, Hermione lifted up the covers and started to slide under them, but her foot touched something strange. Her eyebrows drew together in confusion as she pulled the blankets to revel what she'd hit. She screamed at what she found there.

When Draco caught sight of what she was looking at, he scrambled away from it, thumping to the floor as he fell out of the bed. Having left her wand on her nightstand back in her room, Hermione went to stand with Draco, who had snatched up his wand from his own nightstand and was pointing it towards his bed.

"This kind of thing never happened when there were only Slytherins living here," he muttered, so quietly that Hermione couldn't hear him – she'd probably have elbowed him had she heard.


	13. Hermione Malfoy: Dragon Tamer

**Chapter 12: Hermione Malfoy: Dragon Tamer**

**A/N: Thanks to everyone who reviewed! Also thanks to harrypotterluver123 for betaing! I'd write a longer author's note, but I just finished a large essay today and I'm all typed out...**

**~Frosty**

"I think it's just sleeping," she whispered close to his ear so she could make as little noise as possible. He tried –and failed- to suppress his shiver as her warm breath stroked his neck.

Shaking off the desire to move closer to her, Draco hesitantly moved forward, making sure to keep his wand between himself and the shrunken dragon. He wasn't being brave really; it was face the dragon or those irritating feelings Hermione seemed to evoke within him.

Cupcake blearily opened his eyes and hissed at the approaching blond. He stood up in his little nest of blankets and shook his small head to wake himself up. Faster than either human in the room would have thought possible, he launched himself in the air and spread his wings, taking flight.

Hermione screeched when Cupcake angled his wings to glide over to her. She ducked and brought her hands to cover her face, but he still managed to easily land on her shoulder.

Draco could only stare with helpless horror. They were too close for him to be able to cast anything at it without running the risk of hitting Hermione with the spell. He watched attentively, wand ready for when the creature moved enough for him to hit the thing. It was going to regret ever messing with a Malfoy.

The cool weight of the dragon settled across her shoulders where it had landed, making Hermione tense and dart a panicked look at Draco. It seemed content to nestle under her hair, its tail curled around her neck with the tip resting just short of the hollow of her throat. She stood very, very still, unsure what Cupcake was going to do next and worried that whatever it was, it was going to involve the end of her life. After all she'd survived, dying by miniature dragon in Draco's bedroom just didn't seem fair.

"I always suspected things could nest in that bushy hair of yours, but I never thought it would be _dragons_," Draco said, approaching them warily, not wanting to startle the dragon and make it hurt Hermione. He was hiding his worry and nervousness behind mean jokes, but it was understandable, as he was under quite a bit of stress at the moment.

The brunette sent him a death-glare that promised pain and suffering when she was free of her scaly necklace. What she needed were calming words and promises to get it off of her, not insults.

Not making any sudden movements, Draco slowly moved to stand next to Hermione and placed his wand against the tiny dragon. "Avada-"

"Don't _kill _him!" Hermione screeched, jumping away from her husband and covering the small creature with her hands. She'd been so concerned with protecting Cupcake that her safety had been forgotten, but when the dragon shifted, both Hermione and Draco froze, paling.

Cupcake merely snuggled closer against Hermione's neck for warmth and went back to sleep, purring a rumbling dragon purr.

"I wasn't going to take chances with the stunning spell not working properly and risk having the monster _bite _you or something. Its _very _sharp teeth are dangerously close to your jugular, in case you haven't noticed." Draco hissed. _He _had certainly noticed, and he wanted nothing more than to eliminate the threat.

"I don't think he's dangerous, I think he might like me," she murmured, tentatively bringing a hand up to stroke the creature's tiny face.

The dragon really did seem to be sleeping peacefully and harmlessly around her neck. Wordlessly, Draco cast an impervious charm on Hermione's skin, protecting it from the tiny but sharp teeth and claws resting so close to it.

"You're just a regular dragon tamer," Draco muttered irritably, getting back into bed. He was confident that Hermione was safe, as long as the lizard didn't decide to start breathing fire. Merlin, that was a worrying thought; the charm protecting her skin wouldn't work against fire and she seemed completely unconcerned about the danger to her safety. Draco knew Gryffindors were brave, but this was blurring the line between brave and reckless.

Hermione heard him and smirked. "He wouldn't be the first dragon I've tamed," she said, looking at her husband pointedly.

"Who says I've been tamed?"

"Maybe not tamed, more like softened slightly," she amended.

Still petting her new friend absently, Hermione made her way towards the door. With all the adrenaline in her system, she wasn't going to be able to sleep for a while.

"Where're you going?" Draco asked when she didn't join him in bed.

"I think I'm going to go read for a bit in the library."

* * *

Hours later when Draco woke up, he went to the library to make sure the dragon hadn't burned down the place. It hadn't occurred to him until just then that it was a monumentally bad idea for Hermione to bring a wild creature with the ability to breathe fire into a room full of priceless, irreplaceable books. He was surprised that Hermione hadn't thought of the thing's ability before she brought it near her precious books – but then, she'd always been too trusting.

His Father was already there when he pushed open the door, but it seemed the older Malfoy was at a loss with what to do about the scene before them.

Hermione had fallen asleep while reading her book, Cupcake still wound around her neck. Sometime during the night, Crookshanks and the trio of lions had found her. The cat was curled up in her lap, just below the book that was resting on her chest. Scattered in a heap around her chair were the lions acting as guards during the vulnerable moment of their leader and his mistress.

"That woman is turning our house into a bloody jungle," Lucius said, watching the lion that propped an eye open at them warily.

"At least it's never boring," Draco said. Gone were the days he aimlessly wandered the halls of the echoing manor, hoping to avoid his parents and find something interesting to do. Now when he wandered he had to worry about lions, dragons, rioting House Elves and a vengeful Hermione. Life wasn't boring with her - that was for sure.

He carefully made his way over to the sleeping girl, navigating the tangled limbs of the pile of lions. The orange demon opened his eyes with a grumble when Draco poked him awake. With a glare, Crookshanks vacated Hermione's lap so Draco could slip his arms around her and lift her up.

"Boy, what are you doing?" Lucius asked when Draco had reached the door. He had watched the entire scene with a mixture of horror and disbelief, unable to process what was going on right in front of his eyes.

"I'm putting her to bed."

"Malfoys don't show affection," his father hissed.

"This one does."

Lucius' eyes narrowed dangerously at his son. "She's never going to accept you, you know. She's too virtuous, and _innocent_," he said the word innocent like it was something disgusting and unwanted. "You'll always be a Malfoy, and you're too good for a Mudblood."

Instead of responding, Draco just left the room. He'd understood what his father had said, but what he heard was 'you'll always be a Malfoy, and she's too good for you'. It was possible that Hermione would accept him, but she deserved someone better.

Never before had he felt unworthy of something or someone, but right then, Draco did. Hermione wasn't just nice, she was _good_. Her acts of kindness were genuine, not some show put on so society would think better of her. She genuinely cared about everyone around her. Malfoys, on the other hand, were cold, unfeeling and morally reprehensible; Hermione didn't deserve to be associated with people like them.

Gently, he sat her down on the bed and seated himself beside her. For once in his life he was going to have to do the right thing. He frowned in distaste at the idea, knowing he was going to have to go through with it now that the notion had burrowed so deep inside his skull. It was going to be difficult, and chances were, Hermione was only going to resent him for his efforts. A sigh escaped his lips as he accepted the difficulty as something necessary.

Smoothing her hair back from her forehead, he pressed a kiss there and left the room; he had some lawyers to contact.

* * *

That week, Draco didn't even show up at the obligatory Monday night dinner, he abandoned Hermione to dine with his parents in awkward reticence. The only sounds echoing in the silence was the soft clinking of silverware and Hermione's quiet admonishments when Cupcake crawled down her arm from her shoulder and tried to steal food from her plate.

By Thursday, she was getting fed up with never having anyone to talk to. She decided to go visit Harry at Grimmauld Place for the weekend before she started work on Monday. It was beginning to get lonely bouncing around the big manor with no one but her large, feline ducklings and her live dragon scarf to keep her company. If Draco wasn't going to put in an appearance, then she wasn't going to just sit around like some pining female waiting for him to decide to see her again.

Cupcake simply refused to stop clinging to her shirt and hair so she could get in the Floo. She spent quite a while trying to pull his little claws and teeth from her mass of hair and clothing before finally deciding that if he was so determined to come with her, then there was obviously no stopping him.

The little creature was obviously used to being the biggest thing in the room and getting his way because of it. He was having some trouble adjusting to being one of the smallest. Hermione had a sneaking suspicion that Cupcake liked perching on her shoulder so much because then he could pretend he wasn't quite so small.

"Harry?" She called when she stepped out of the fire. Learning from her past mistakes, Hermione made sure to keep her back to a wall and her wand out, just in case Ron was lurking with a paperweight somewhere.

Harry appeared in the doorway that led to the kitchen with a big smile on his face that faded when he saw Cupcake.

"Hermione," he said in a strained voice, "you have a dragon around your neck."

"I know," she answered, patting Cupcake, who didn't seem to mind that he'd just taken his first trip through the Floo system. "This is Cupcake, he used to prowl the garden until he got inside and tore up the marble floors, so Draco shrunk him down."

Harry approached hesitantly, holding out a hand to Cupcake. The dragon hissed and flew across the room, perching on top of the moulding around the doorway into the kitchen and glowering.

"Wow, he really doesn't like you," Hermione told her friend with a grin.

Harry shrugged. "Yah, well, I don't exactly have the best experience with dragons in the past. I hear animals can sense those things."

Now that she was free of her passenger, Harry was able to move forward and hug her without fear of being mauled. "How've you been Hermione?"

"I've been all right. You?"

Harry's sharp green eyes looked her up and down as he held her at arm's length. "I've been fine, but I can tell by your tone that you haven't. Does this have something to do with Malfoy visiting that law office?"

Hermione took a step back from her friend. "What do you mean?"

Startled that she didn't seem to know what he was talking about, Harry backtracked. "I was visiting Weasley's Wizard Wheezes the other day -the branch in Diagon Alley- and I saw Malfoy walking into the law offices there. I asked around after I saw that... I didn't mean to pry, but I was worried he was doing something that would affect you too. Anyway, I was told that he's been visiting the best in the business in law offices all over Europe looking for ways to get out of a magically binding marriage."

Hermione took another step back from her friend, as if the distance could soften what he'd said. Cold dread had started to gnaw at her stomach as her heart skipped a beat and then sped up. Months ago, she would have been happy that he was putting all that effort into getting away from her, but things had changed and she'd become closer to the prat. This was hurting her.

When Ron had told her that he'd cheated on her, a little piece of her heart had cracked. With Draco, that little piece had healed, but she knew that if what Harry was saying was true, that little piece would be broken all over again – possibly a slightly larger part.

Her large, brown eyes met the green ones of her friend. "I have to go find Draco, can I come back later?" She asked.

"Of course," Harry said. He could see the worry and hurt lurking in the back of her chocolate orbs. If Malfoy did something to hurt Hermione, there was going to be hell to pay.

Resolutely, Hermione nodded, grabbed a handful of Floo powder and disappeared into a swirl of green flames. There was no talking to her when she was so set one something, he could only watch her leave and hope for the best. He knew she wasn't going to be physically hurt, but emotional injuries were entirely possible.

"Wait!" Harry yelled, but it was no use. "You forgot your dragon," he muttered, glancing warily at the lizard. It seemed to know Hermione was no longer in the house and let out a mournful wail before flying across the room, landing on the mantle and trying to crawl into the flames.

"You can't go in there without Floo powder," Harry scolded, picking up the small creature as it protested with more pathetic wails. What kind of self-respecting dragon got so depressed when a person left the room?

"We're both worried about her, mate. Did you see that look on her face? If Malfoy really is doing what I heard he's doing, it's going to tear her apart."

Cupcake hissed.

"You can have him when I'm done beating the Slytherin out of him."

* * *

The Manor felt just as empty when she got back as it had before she'd left, meaning that there was probably no one else home, save for the House Elves and the pets. She stopped as she realized that her awareness of the different 'feelings' of the Manor was probably because she was starting to sense changes in the wards.

There was no sense going back to Harry's house and making him miserable with her worrying, so she went to Draco's room and sat on his bed, determined to wait there for his return, even if she had to wait there all night.

As it turned out, she didn't have long to wait; she'd only been sitting there on the luxurious comforter for around ten minutes when he came into the room. He didn't notice her immediately and headed straight to his bookshelf, where he started scanning the titles intently, muttering to himself.

"Draco, I have a question for you."

He started a little and whipped around to face her. "What're you doing lurking in my room?"

"I haven't seen much of you recently, so I can only assume that you've been avoiding me. This is the only place in the house that you're guaranteed to visit eventually." Her tone was a little sharper than she'd intended, but only because she was hurt that he seemed so... hostile all of a sudden. It only strengthened her horrible suspicion that Harry had been right and he was desperately trying to find a way to get rid of her. She didn't know what she'd done wrong.

"Fine, ask your question then get out."

Hermione looked at him disbelievingly. Where was the man who had sat on the beach under an umbrella with her while she sunbathed because he didn't want her to try to swim while she had no one to keep an eye on her? It seemed that this cruel Slytherin had banished that man completely.

"Are you seeing magical lawyers all over Europe trying to find a way to get out of our marriage?"

Draco looked surprised, but not outraged at the accusation like she'd hoped he would. "Yes, I am," he told her coldly. "Is that all?"

"Is this because I said you'd softened?" She asked in a small voice. It shocked her how _unwanted _it made her feel that he was spending all his time desperately seeking a way to get away from her. Sure they hadn't been the best of friends, but they're been _trying _to make their marriage work – or at least she had, it seemed he'd only been pretending.

"No. It's because we-" he whipped his index finger between the two of them, "-are never going to work out. This will make us both happier." He turned so she was staring at the back of his blond head.

"Stop it!" she screeched suddenly, whipping a pillow at the back of his head. She was desperate to get some sort of reaction out of him that wasn't covered in a veneer of coldness and uncaring. Deep down, Draco wasn't near as cold as he pretended to be, Hermione had seen him when he was warm, concerned and almost loving. There were emotions in there somewhere and she wasn't leaving the room until he'd expressed some.

"Stop WHAT?" He yelled, turning to face her again.

Hermione started to rethink her desire to shatter his facade when she saw the rage in his eyes. There was something else there as well... anguish? No, that couldn't be it. He was doing this, why would be bother if it upset him so much? Slytherins were notoriously self-serving, so she couldn't figure out his motivations.

"Stop putting your walls up at me. We're going to be stuck with each other for the _rest of our lives_, what can you _possibly _gain from constantly blocking me out?"

"I've told you before, I'm _not _one of your charity cases! And we're _not _going to be stuck together for the rest of our lives, I'm going to find us a way out of this thing so we won't be _trapped _with each other anymore." He snarled.

Hermione stared at him for a moment with betrayal in her eyes that cut him deeper than anything she could have said. The woman had the most expressive eyes he'd ever seen, so he could tell that he'd wounded her deeply but he had to stay strong; what he was doing was for her own good.

Before the tears started, Hermione jumped off of his bed and fled the room. She ran down the hall to her own bedroom and quickly packed a bag. Crookshanks found her just as she was zipping up the bag, ready to leave.

"I'm getting out of here Crooks," she sniffed. She was brave, but she was also smart enough to see it was obvious that she was no longer welcome in Malfoy Manor.

The cat just regarded her with his sympathetic feline eyes. He'd known the smug one was going to do something to hurt his mistress eventually; it had only been a question of when.

"Do you want to come with me?"

He meowed and the lions padded into the room, lining up in a neat row and joining their leader in watching her expectantly.

Hermione gave a watery laugh and lugged her suitcase off of the bed. She shrunk the lions down to kitten size so she could carry them through the fire and scooped up the bunch of them, hugging them tightly to her chest for the little comfort they could provide her.

Harry was waiting for her when she came out the other side, sitting on his sofa beside a very alert and agitated-looking Cupcake. To his credit, Harry didn't say a word about all the animals with her or the suitcase. He took one look at his friend's face and jumped up to embrace her.

The tears that had been falling slowly since she'd talked to Draco started to fall like a flood-gate had burst. Cupcake came to wrap himself around her neck in an attempt to comfort her while the felines all pressed themselves against her trembling legs.

Hermione cried until her chest ached and her eyes stung – not just because of Draco, but because in being with him, she'd ruined whatever chance of a happy life she'd had with Ron. She'd gone and put her trust into the blond and he'd shattered it, just like Ron had.

Now she found herself left without either of the happy endings she'd been working towards for years. The worst part of the whole thing was that if Draco was unable to find a way to divorce her, the both of them wouldn't be able to find someone else; the spell would never let them. They'd be stuck together and miserable for the rest of their lives.


	14. Centipedes!

**Chapter 13: Centipedes!**

**A/N: Just for the record, the reaction to centipedes (not the disturbing orange ones that are outside under rocks, but house centipedes) in this chapter is actually a pretty accurate representation of what happens to me when I see one... They're just so... leggy and fast and terrifying! *shudders* And they can bite and I'm pretty sure they want my soul for some kind of greater evil purpose... **

**Seriously though, I once saw one so big I swear I could see the evil intent in its eyes... And he was in my **_**bedroom**_**. *shudders* I slept on the couch for days. **

**As always, thanks to harrypotterluver123 for betaing. The format went kind of screwy when I got it back through the DocX, so if there's a space that's off here somewhere that's why. I've been on buses for five hours and I'm too tired to focus and reread it a second time... **

**Also! Huge thanks to everyone who reviewed! And I have a new story, you should look into it. I'm trying my hand at the Veela storyline thing in it.**

**~Frosty**

"There's a bloody miniature menagerie living here." Ginny said in awe, looking around the kitchen of Grimmauld Place at the assembled animals. She'd come over to visit her boyfriend for the day – her family didn't ever let her stay overnight and insisted they wouldn't until she graduated Hogwarts next year. Instead of just Harry, she'd found this little circus of creatures.

"They came with Hermione," Harry sighed.

The redhead turned her piercing gaze onto him. "Hermione's here?" She asked worriedly. Hermione wasn't one to just give up and leave when she'd committed to something – even something she hadn't committed to willingly. That she was staying with Harry instead of at the Manor said that something was really wrong.

"Yeah, Malfoy's been looking all over Europe for ways to divorce her."

Her eyes darkened with anger at the blond moron before softening in sympathy for her friend. Sure they didn't always coexist harmoniously, but Ginny had really thought there was something there between those two besides the obvious animosity.

"Is Hermione all right? Is she here right now?"

Harry shook his head. "No to both. She works too much to hide the fact that she's not taking this well. The hours she works are getting ridiculous; she was only back yesterday for around eight hours before she was off to work again."

They both watched as Cupcake pounced on the scone Ginny had been eating with her tea. The tiny dragon rumbled triumphantly before flying off with his prize, followed jealously by the miniature lions. Crookshanks took the opportunity to hop up onto a kitchen chair and place his front paws on the table, he seemed to think he was going to be taking part in the conversation as well.

"Mrrrow," the cat said, eager to give his own input to these people who were completely missing the obvious.

They two at the table just watched the orange feline for a moment. "That cat just gets weirder and weirder," Harry mumbled.

Ginny nodded solemnly. "I think he'd worried about Hermione just as much as we are. I have no idea how he even understands the situation, but I think he's worried."

"I don't think there's really anything we can do for her besides murder Malfoy." He paused, head tilted to the side in contemplation. "If we make it look like an accident and he dies, all of her problems are solved and as an added bonus, Malfoy would be dead."

His green eyes narrowed as he remembered Malfoy nearly dropping him into a pool of piranha and then letting him drop to the floor. Not to mention the years of torment throughout school.

"I don't know... Something like that might make her sad. I mean, they _were _getting on well for a while there and you know how Hermione is about sudden deaths of people she once cared about."

Frustrated, Harry let his head fall to the table with a thump. "I just don't like seeing her hurting so much when there's absolutely nothing I can do to make her feel better. If it wasn't _Malfoy _we were talking about, I'd think she was heartbroken."

"The ferret's an awfully sneaky one; it's possible he somehow managed to weasel his way into her heart. I don't think it's broken though; I'd say bruised at best, _maybe _cracked."

"I still say we murder Malfoy," Harry muttered. Hermione had been through quite a bit recently, what with her forced marriage, the loss of Ron and then his attack, and all of this following a war that was hard on everyone. It wasn't fair that every time she seemed to manage to get herself comfortable, almost happy in a situation, she'd lose it again.

Crookshanks grumbled his disagreement and made a very thoughtful suggestion of his own, but Harry assumed the feline was merely asking for a piece of scone. He set a piece down under the half-Kneazle's dainty, pink nose and turned back to Ginny to discuss what they could do about Hermione.

Looking from the piece of scone to Harry and back again with disgust and irritation, Crookshanks growled his frustration. He left them to their planning; knowing whatever they came up with wasn't going to work because it wasn't the _right _plan. The feline paused in his departure of disgust, ran back for the scone, gave them one last look of loathing, and trotted away. His owner was smart, she'd figure everything out eventually and then he would get head pats for having been right all along.

* * *

Hermione loved her new job. She loved that she had a staff who looked up to her as someone who genuinely cared about the Magical Creatures they worked to help, she loved that feeling she got when she brought about justice for a deserving creature, but most of all, she loved the long hours. The cases she took on were expansive and time consuming and filled her with a sense of accomplishment that had been eluding her since she'd written her final exams at Hogwarts.

Immediately upon being first appointed to her post, she'd renamed the department. 'The Department of Control and Regulation of Magical Creatures' made it sound like they were something to be monitored, not beings. They were now 'The Department of Magical Creatures; the creatures didn't need 'control' or 'regulation', they needed a department that was looking out for their needs.

"Leaving now, Mrs. Malfoy?" Her secretary, Claude, asked her as she exited her office. His question was entirely sarcastic, as she should have gone home hours ago.

She frowned at the man. "Claude, we've been through this. Don't call me Mrs. Malfoy, it makes me look around for Narcissa. And didn't I send you home hours ago?"

Hermione knew she'd ordered the man to go home a long time ago, around when they were officially finished for the day. It was now dark outside and much too late for many other people to be in the building.

He was completely unperturbed by her attitude towards him, knowing she was just tired and irritable, not actually upset with him. "I call you Mrs. Malfoy because it amuses me to no end to watch that frantic glance around the room you do."

"And you haven't left yet because...?" Her arms were crossed and her eyebrows were raised unconsciously echoing an expression she'd learned from Draco.

"I had some paperwork to sort out. I'm leaving now boss lady." He told her with a grin.

Hermione sighed and shook her head at his antics, but walked towards the Floo.

After her long day, she tiredly retreated back to Harry's house and found him sitting at the table with Ginny, who was already giving her a sympathetic look. She loved Ginny like the sister she'd never had, but the presence of the redhead was only going to make what she was about to say harder.

She'd come to a decision that day while filling out her paperwork; she needed to stop taking advantage of Harry's hospitality and return to the Manor. She may be unwanted there, but that was where she was supposed to be living until Draco either accepted that he was stuck with her or he managed to get that divorce, leaving her free to live somewhere else.

"Hermione," Ginny exclaimed when the frazzled former Gryffindor entered the room. Smiling, the redhead hopped up and clung to her friend tightly.

Hermione was proud of herself; she didn't cry one single tear, whereas last week she would have cried several in the soothing embrace of Ginny. Progress was being made. It seemed that all she had to do was work herself into the ground while allowing the passage of time to soothe her hurt heart.

When Ginny released her and sat back down at the table with her tea, Hermione poured a cup and joined her two friends.

"I'm going back to the Manor tonight."She announced.

Harry inhaled some of the tea he'd been sipping and started choking. "You're what?" He gasped when he'd finally regained his breath.

"I'm moving back to the Manor. It's not like I don't spend most of my time at work anyway, and until Draco manages to divorce me or accepts that he can't I shouldn't keep staying here and taking advantage of your hospitality."

"Hermione, you know you're always welcome here," Harry said.

Wordlessly, she got up from her seat and hugged her friend. "I know Harry, but I feel like I'm running away and hiding here, and you know how I hate feeling like that."

Ever the brave Gryffindor, Hermione was not one to run and hide. Now that she'd realized that was what she'd been doing, she planned on putting an end to her act of cowardice. Immediately.

Cupcake burst into the room in a tumble of flapping wings and tiny claws, startling Ginny. The dragon curled into his usual place, settling around Hermione's shoulders with a hum of happiness.

"Do I even want to know?" Ginny asked, looking at the tiny scaly creature warily. It had seemed kind of dangerous while it had been stealing the scone, but now almost looked _cuddly_– something hard to do when covered in scales and multiple dangerous pointy bits.

"Long story," Hermione said, waving off the question. She didn't want to recount the beginning of her relationship with Cupcake; it hurt a little to remember when she and Draco were almost getting along. She was going to miss that almost friendship -if not more- that they had developed briefly. For a while, she'd even convinced herself that they were capable of falling in love.

Her friends tried to stop her, but they eventually let her return to the Manor. The first thing she did upon stepping out of the Floo was change the lions back to their former size. They stretched gratefully, seemingly glad that they were no longer miniature.

She glanced at Cupcake to see if he was watching them jealously, but he was once again asleep. He was a lot more docile when he was tiny and didn't seem to mind his reduced size at all. Maybe he'd been so angry all the time before because he'd been sad that everyone was afraid of him? She didn't see where the barbequing helpless songbirds came in, but it was possible that was just how dragons played and he hadn't yet realized that not all creatures were as fireproof as he was.

A scream tore through the air jolting Cupcake awake and causing Hermione to whip out her wand and run in the direction where the noise had come from.

The Gryffindor got to the library and ripped open the door just as Narcissa let out another scream. Hermione began frantically looking around the room for what horror could possibly make the stoic Narcissa Malfoy scream like that, but her search turned up no obvious threat.

"Narcissa, what's wrong?" Hermione asked wearily. The blonde woman was perched on a table, hugging her knees to her chest as if allowing the limbs to stray too far from her body would cause some horrible monster to appear and tear them off.

"Centipede," she said, pointing a shaking finger toward a dark corner of the library.

Hermione lowered her wand and looked at Narcissa in disbelief.

"Why don't you use your wand?" She asked, genuinely curious.

"Don't just stand there and ask questions, _get it_!"

Before Hermione could do anything, Cupcake stood up, arched his back in a cat-like stretch and launched himself into the dark corner with an excited growl. In one bite, he'd taken care of the small bug that so terrified the woman who had stood up to one of the most powerful Dark Wizards of all time.

When the blonde woman saw that the creepy-crawly was no longer a threat –not that it ever really had been- she put her feet on the floor and her cool facade fell back into place neatly. It was a wonder the people around her didn't get whiplash from her rapid mood changes.

"I have a slight... dislike of centipedes," Narcissa explained coolly.

They both watched Cupcake prance back over to them proudly, having consumed his kill with vigour. Not too long ago, the Dragon would have been able to accidently squish the thing and now he was hunting and eating them. Hermione was a little worried that the dragon's stomach would have problems digesting the unusual nourishment.

"And you are just a _lovely _creature!" The Malfoy matriarch cooed as she picked up Cupcake. It seemed that the incident in the garden, and the one with the floors in the foyer when he was full-sized were apparently forgotten in the wake of his recent 'heroism'.

Hermione was surprised that the frosty woman was showing so much affection towards the dragon that she had been so angry with not so long ago. She'd been sure that the grudge between the two was going to be a lasting thing, but she'd never taken into account strange phobias, so it was understandable that her calculations were off slightly.

"If you want, you can keep Cupcake with you for a while. I know if I _disliked _anything that intensely, I'd want a creature with a habit of eating them to accompany me for a while." The brunette offered.

Narcissa smiled at the girl gratefully. She was kind, and not at all the unsophisticated Muggle they'd thought she'd be. If Draco wasn't being so distant with the poor thing, Narcissa believed that the young woman could be happy married to him – they'd certainly _seemed _pretty happy coming back from their vacation. She even believed that, in time, she and her husband could accept the girl.

"Thank you," the older woman said, nodding her head.

Hermione nodded back, leaving the room again. Narcissa Malfoy wasn't so bad, she was human after all. It was comforting that someone usually so put together forgot about her magic in the face of a tiny bug.

* * *

She'd been living back at the Manor for an entire week before Draco returned.

In addition to the customary Monday night dinners with the older Malfoys, Hermione had taken to having tea with Narcissa some afternoons. After Cupcake had spent the day with her, the blonde woman had calmed down enough to relax without the dragon there to 'protect' her. When she'd returned him to Hermione, she'd also extended an invitation to tea. It had quickly become obvious that Narcissa was just as lonely as Hermione was in that big Manor, possibly more so because she didn't have the wonderful friends the Gryffindor had been blessed with.

Draco found them that way, daintily sipping from their teacups while Crookshanks and Cupcake looked on jealously at the tiny sandwiches in the middle of the table on a silver platter. Hermione had long since given up rolling her eyes at such over-the-top representations of opulence. The feline was only faking the look of jealousy so that Hermione wouldn't expect Narcissa was sneaking him food, he didn't want the food to stop and knew it would if his owner saw. Ever since that trip to the vet when the evil man had proclaimed that he was overweight and needed to stop eating people food Hermione had been cutting down on the treats he got.

"What the hell is going on here?" He demanded, looking to his mother while obviously avoiding even a glance at Hermione. It figured that he'd run away from confrontation instead of just talking to her about whatever it was that had made him decide to try and divorce her.

"Language, Draco." Narcissa chided.

Crookshanks glared fiercely at him from Narcissa's lap were he'd been comfortably resting, basking in her attention and eating the dainty cucumber sandwich pieces she'd been passing him. The cat didn't particularly like the vegetables, but he enjoyed the bread.

Draco rolled his eyes, but didn't comment further. In all honesty, his outburst had been because he was worried that his mother was up to something that would end in danger for his wife. He didn't want anything to happen to Hermione despite the way he was acting towards her. Now that he was set on divorcing her, he no longer had to worry about his parents trying to off Hermione, but drinking tea with his mother when she didn't absolutely have to was just tempting fate. Sometimes the Gryffindor was too... Gryffindor for her own good.

His silver eyes moved suspiciously from the brunette to his mother and back again. What could that woman possibly hope to gain from striking up a friendship with the wife he was trying to divorce?

"Would you care to join us for tea?" Narcissa asked when the silence after his arrival had stretched out too long to be comfortable.

He sat reluctantly, not wanting to leave Hermione alone with his mother, even though the barmy Gryffindor was obviously comfortable with the woman– far more comfortable than he'd ever been. He continued resolutely ignoring the presence of the brunette, but accepted the cup of tea his mother handed over.

"Excuse me Narcissa, I have to... be somewhere else." Hermione announced, setting her cup down and leaving the room.

When the door shut behind the Gryffindor's retreating back, Narcissa turned to her son with a disapproving frown. "You're so caught up in finding a way out of your marriage that you don't have the sense to _appreciate _that you could be happy with her. What happens if you finally manage to get out of your little marriage with her? I can tell you; you're going to end up in an arranged marriage with a Pureblooded girl you don't even know. Do you really want that?"

"This is what I have to do Mother," Draco insisted, a little louder than necessary. The determination in his voice made it obvious that there would be no persuading him otherwise. He always had been stubborn, the trait had first shown itself when he was barely a year old and had decided that he _wanted _the cookie his father had refused him. A burst of accidental magic had melted Lucius' hair and Draco had flat out _refused _to change it back until he'd eaten four cookies.

Narcissa followed the direction of his eyes and noticed the shadow under the door. The poor girl wasn't near as sneaky as she thought she was.

Outside the door, Hermione sighed sadly. She knew it wasn't polite to listen at doors, but she wanted to know what was going on, and eavesdropping had seemed like it would be the only option. Narcissa's words to her son had surprised her; sure they kept each other company for tea a few times a week, but Hermione hadn't thought it was the kind of thing that was capable of upturning a lifetime of prejudice.

With a sigh, the brunette left them to the remainder of their conversation. Despite living in a house of them, Hermione wasn't a Slytherin and she knew it was wrong of her to be listening at doors.

* * *

Draco was irritated. First he found out that his mother and Hermione had struck up some sort of friendship over _centipedes _of all things and then the orange demon had taken to following him around giving him accusing glares. The creature was _blaming _him for trying to do the right thing. It was no wonder so many people just went about their lives exploiting and manipulating others, being good was _hard._

"I'm doing this for her own good," the blond insisted, glaring right back at the feline.

Crookshanks huffed an unimpressed sneeze and went right back to glaring.

Sighing, Draco made his way to the kitchens to find a morsel with which to bribe the cat. He was hoping a salmon steak or something could persuade the creature to stop making him second guess himself.

When he opened the door to the kitchen, he really wished he hadn't. Sitting at the small table reserved for snacking between meals and informal dining, were Hermione and his father. They didn't even seem to be glaring or insulting or any of the things he'd come to expect from the two. It appeared they were just eating their pancakes in companionable silence, and for some reason, Hermione was covered in chocolate frosting.

Before either of them could notice him peeking in the room, Draco quickly shut the door.

"I'm gone for just over a week and the world turned upside down," he told the orange demon in disbelief.

If he wanted the answers he so dearly needed for his piece-of-mind, then there was only one thing Draco could do; talk to Hermione. He had a feeling she wasn't going to be pleased with him ignoring her for so long.


	15. The Best Paid Pillow in the Land

**Chapter 14: The Best Paid Pillow in the Land  
**

**A/N: *sigh* I have to stop writing things that make me want a cupcake!**

**As always, thanks to harrypotterluver123 for betaing! And thanks to everyone who reviewed!**

**I'm moving at the end of the week, so I'm a little busy, but I'm doing my best not to slow down on the updating.**

**~Frosty**

Hermione had just wanted a little snack since Draco had interrupted her tea before she could eat anything. So she'd gone down to the kitchens to see what she could find. Instead of the food she'd been searching for, she'd discovered Lucius Malfoy sitting at the table eating pancakes. It was almost too strange to properly process, but her formidable brain was up to the challenge – barely.

"Sorry, I'll come back later," she said immediately, turning to leave. To pretend she'd never witnessed something so odd was the conclusion her poor brain had finally arrived at, it was a defence mechanism. Forgetting was easier than finding an explanation.

Cupcake, it seemed, had other ideas. While Hermione had been focused on the man at the table, the dragon's yellow eyes had zeroed in on another target. He launched himself from her shoulders and flew to the tray of his namesake that the Elves had prepared for after dinner that night.

Immediately the tiny dragon was covered in chocolate frosting and making happy growling sounds as he rolled across the sticky tops of the cakes. Apparently there was a reason the creature was named 'Cupcake'.

She missed the amused glint in Lucius' eyes as she fought the protesting dragon away from the sugary treats. Cupcake made a distressed whine and tried to get back to his snack, but Hermione restrained him. She struggled with the dragon for a moment before he gave up and settled across her shoulders with a depressed grumble.

"You just had a fight with a dragon, yet you don't have one scratch on you," Lucius observed in surprise. He'd expected the girl's arms to be shredded from the razor sharp claws and teeth on the tiny dragon, yet she was completely unharmed.

Hermione was surprised that he'd deigned to talk to her. "He wouldn't hurt me," she said confidently, stroking the smooth scales resting against her skin. She was covered in frosting and so was he, but she didn't seem to mind all that much. Lucius was horrified that someone could be so _messy _and still seem perfectly happy despite being all sticky.

Lucius waved a regal hand at the empty space across from him at the table, so Hermione accepted the invitation and sat down. She grabbed a plate and forked some of the pancakes from the large serving dish resting in the middle of the elaborate setting.

"I wouldn't have pegged you for the pancakes type," she said quietly, unsure how he was going to react to her daring to speak. It was possible that he expected her to just sit there and eat before leaving without a word.

"I find that pancakes are..."He stopped, searching for the phrasing to explain his feelings towards the fluffy snack.

Hermione grinned; she knew exactly what he was getting at. "You eat them as comfort food. Mine's chocolate."

Commenting on how amusing it was that he had a secret love of pancakes was probably a stupid thing to do to Lucius Malfoy, so Hermione just left her response at the grin. Her self-preservation prevented her from taking the conversation any further.

He nodded sharply, and they settled into an almost companionable silence.

"Can I ask you something?" She suddenly questioned.

Lucius raised his eyes to the ceiling in an expression that his son had obviously inherited. "I doubt you're going to leave until I answer."

"You and Narcissa... Your marriage was arranged, are you really both so unhappy?"

"Narcissa is a beautiful woman, but she's very cold-"

"She's not!" Hermione protested. "Does she know you do human things like eat pancakes or does she think you're just as cold as you believe her to be?"

The older Malfoys had put zero effort in actually getting to know one another and they were both miserable and lonely because of it. In all the years they'd lived together, it seemed like they'd spent as much time as possible avoiding each other and hadn't bothered to spend even an hour getting to know their spouse. It was sad really. Hermione mentally made a promise to herself to try and do something to resolve the tension between the couple.

"I imagine she thinks I'm just as cold as I know her to be. No matter what you say, I am cold, just as my wife is."

Hermione nodded, pondering what she could so about this rift between the older Malfoys. It wasn't good for anyone to be so unfeeling towards their spouse and Hermione had never been one to just allow a problem to fester.

"Don't meddle where your help is not wanted girl," Lucius warned, noticing the spark in her eye. He knew the meddlesome girl was capable of causing a lot of trouble if she wanted to, and he didn't fancy being locked in a closet with his wife until they'd resolved their differences or some other poorly thought out scheme that her Gryffindor mind developed.

"But I think you two could be happier if you'd just talk to each other occasionally, maybe try and get to know the person you married," she protested.

"Don't talk to me about getting to know the person you married when your own husband is frantically searching for a way to get free from you."

It felt like he'd just stabbed her in the chest, or physically slapped her with his words. Draco really was doing everything he could to get away from her. Was it because she was acting like his parents were and not trying hard enough? She'd been under the impression that they'd been getting on pretty well, but obviously something had gone wrong somewhere.

The bite of pancakes she'd just placed in her mouth suddenly seemed repulsive as her appetite fled. Fluffy pastry turned to ash and sweet syrup soured on her tongue. Quickly, she finished chewing the bite and cringed as she forced herself to swallow it, unwilling to be rude and spit out the suddenly offensive mouthful.

"I have to go," she mumbled, standing up from the table and leaving the room, the rest of her plate remaining unfinished.

Lucius watched her go with a contemplative look in his eyes.

* * *

Hermione scrubbed a spot behind Cupcake's wings, smiling fondly when he made his little dragon purring noise. Sure she was a little upset, but that was no excuse to leave the poor dragon in the sticky mess he'd made of himself.

"You're just like a real cupcake," she said to him, grinning at the frosting covered dragon.

To stop the little guy from tracking icing all over the Manor, she was giving him a bath in the sink of her personal washroom. She'd been hesitant to put him in the water, worried that he wouldn't like the water, but he seemed to be enjoying it. His innocent and enthusiastic enjoyment of the water was cheering her up considerably after her run-in with Lucius.

When he was finally clean, she emptied the dirty water out of the sink and refilled it with clean water so he could play in it while she had a shower to get the icing off of herself.

A fond smile grew on her lips as she listened to the happy chirps and splashing she could hear over the sound of her shower. She only hoped Cupcake didn't manage to cover the _entire _room with water while she wasn't keeping an eye on him, the House Elves didn't need to have even more work after the mess he'd left them in the kitchens.

Wrapped in a towel with her hair dripping cold trails of moisture down her back, Hermione stood in front of her walk-in closet looking for something comfortable to wear.

Crookshanks hissed at Cupcake when the dragon landed beside him on the bed and shook the moisture out of his wings. Droplets of water landed dangerously near the orange feline, who obviously wasn't pleased, he fluffed up his fur and hissed at the dragon.

The brunette chuckled at the antics of her pets as she rifled through the bureau that contained her undergarments. Her pinkie caught on something lacy and she pulled it out, wondering what she owned that was so luxurious feeling and soft to the touch.

She wrinkled her nose in distaste when she held the item up in front of her, examining the thing critically. It was the lacy negligee that Daphne had sent over when Draco had needed a tension release. He probably needed it again by now, maybe massaging him would make him relax a little and _talk _to her again. She quickly dismissed that idea, deciding that he'd probably yell at her for even attempting something like that. Also, he hadn't yet apologised for his sudden change of heart, so he didn't even _deserve _a massage.

Curious, Hermione sifted through the drawer until she'd found the matching bottoms. She'd looked all right in that bathing suit that had seemed like it would barely covered her, so maybe this would look passable on her as well? It wasn't like anyone was going to see her...

Her curiosity got the better of her. She slipped the bottoms up her legs and under the towel before drying her hair with a spell and dropping the towel so she could put on the top. Twirling in front of her full-length mirror, Hermione decided that she kind of liked the feel of the gossamer material and lace. Daphne had chosen well, she didn't look like the whore she'd thought she would while wearing it. For once, Hermione kind of felt... sexy.

"Hermione, I-" Draco said as he opened her door without knocking. He saw what she was wearing and froze midsentence.

A dark blush spread across her cheeks as his eyes looked her up and down hungrily. It figured that the one time she wore something that wasn't her usual white cotton was the same day Draco decided to speak to her again and forgot to knock. She snapped into action and pulled on a robe, making sure to tie it tightly.

The feeling of his eyes raking over her form had been uncomfortable, but the hunger she saw there had been... exciting. She didn't want to face the end result of that hunger of the meaning behind her excitement at the moment, so more layers were the best option.

"What did you want?" She asked, making sure to let him hear her irritation. Maybe she really wasn't putting the effort into the relationship that she should be...

He averted his eyes even though she was now completely covered, as if trying to make up for his earlier perusal."I wanted to know what in the world's going on with you and my parents, first tea with my mother and then pancakes with my father? Don't you realize that there's a high possibility that they're trying to get rid of you? And why were you covered in frosting?"

"Careful Draco, you're almost sounding like you care," she warned. If he didn't stop, she might start thinking that he was worried about her, which was obviously impossible, as he was trying to get rid of her. Never mind that he'd seemed to worry about her safety on numerous occasions. I t was easier to believe that the kindness was the act instead of the opposite way; Draco had been her enemy for so long that it made more sense for him to hate her.

"I _do _care," he said quietly, still looking away from her.

"You expect me to believe my death won't make your little quest unnecessary?"Hermione snapped. Did the prat think she was completely dense? She knew how the magical marriage thing worked; if she died, all his problems would be solved. Hell, he'd probably be able to play the grieving widower for sympathy when he was chasing women the night after her death.

"It would, but not for the reason you think." Draco was starting to get angry with her and her complete disregard for her own safety. All the work he was putting into separating himself from her so she could live a normal, happy life and marry whoever she wanted would be pointless if she was _dead_.

"What, you haven't decided that I'm a Mudblood who would never fit in your Pureblood life? That someone you think of as dirt couldn't possibly-"

"No!" Draco snapped, interrupting her rant."I just want you to be able to _choose_. If you hadn't been forced together with me, then you wouldn't want anything to do with this," he gestured around the opulent room to show his point.

"Well I _was _forced! I was forced together with you, and you weren't the prat I thought you'd be. You made me _like _you and now you've left and made me _miss _you!" She yelled, not noticing the tears that were beginning to run down her face.

Draco noticed though. He moved forward and wrapped his arms around her, pressing a kiss on top of her head when she clung to him and started crying in earnest. He'd missed holding her and hadn't intended to hurt her like this.

She sobbed into his chest while Draco stroked her hair and mumbled soothing nothings in an attempt to get her to stop. This comforting thing wasn't as difficult as he'd once thought.

Sniffling, Hermione pulled away and wiped her eyes, cursing that little crack in her heart that was Draco's fault; it seemed to be wired directly to her tear ducts. She hiccupped and stared up into his eyes. "You're an idiot. If I were given the choice, I wouldn't change a thing."

Her arms snaked up around his neck and she kissed him. He hadn't hated her after all; he'd just been giving her a choice... by not asking her and taking her choice to stay with him away. He was a prat, but he was a sweet prat.

Draco responded eagerly, pressing her body nearer to his with his hands where they rested on the small of her back, wanting her as close to him as possible. He nipped her bottom lip, causing her to gasp quietly and allow him entrance.

The pair jumped apart when cupcake landed on Hermione's shoulder and bit Draco on the ear.

"What the _hell_?" The blond demanded, rubbing his ear.

Hermione grabbed Cupcake and set him down on the bed, turning back to Draco to examine his ear. There was no blood; the dragon hadn't even broken the skin.

"You're fine," she told him, reaching up to rub his ear gently in a soothing motion. He was just being a big baby.

Draco relaxed under her gentle touch, but it didn't stop him from glaring daggers at the tiny dragon. He'd known the thing had a soft spot for Hermione, which pretty much automatically put it in league with the orange demon, but he hated it when his suspicions of plots against him turned out to be true.

"Don't be angry with Cupcake, he's just upset that you're taking up all my attention," she said, patting the irritated blond on the cheek.

"_Joy_, I have to compete for your attention with a dragon."

"Are you... going to stop looking for ways to get out of our marriage?" She asked hesitantly, unsure if he'd been swayed from his decision. Sure, she knew his reasoning now, but that didn't mean he wasn't going to insist on continuing with the plan he's set in motion.

Draco looked deep into her eyes, trying to read what she was thinking in the expressive cinnamon irises. "You don't want me to?"

She shook her head. "No."

"Then I guess I'm done looking for a way out."

Hermione smiled hugely and kissed him again, making sure to pull away quickly before Cupcake could get upset. "Thank you."

"You should probably get some clothes on now," he muttered, averting his eyes away from her again.

Hermione glanced down and blushed. Sometime between when she'd donned it and their kiss, her robe had come untied and was open to reveal what she was wearing underneath. With a small squeak of embarrassment, she retreated into the closet to throw a t-shirt and jeans on overtop of the lacy garments.

Draco was sitting on her bed still glaring at Cupcake when she returned.

"What made you decide to try to divorce me in the first place?" she asked, sitting down beside him and sliding over so their arms were just brushing. It was so nice to be able to be near him without having that irritating ache gnawing in her chest.

"Father. He went on a rant about how you'd never be good enough for me-" he put an arm around her waist and pulled her against his side "-and all I could think was 'he's right, but it's not _her _who's not good enough for _me_, it's the other way around'."

Hermione snuggled closer and kissed the underside of his jaw. He was being sweet, and she knew enough about him to savour it before his snide side kicked in.

"And if you tell anyone I said that, they won't believe you," he mumbled to hide his embarrassment.

The brunette chuckled. He'd done exactly what she'd thought he would.

"Don't worry Draco, the fact that you've actually got a heart under all that arrogance is our little secret."

They sat together in silence for a while, not feeling the need to speak.

Hermione's curiosity eventually got the better of her."So you really travelled all over Europe visiting law offices?"

Draco scowled at the memory of his travels."It was horrible; I have no patience for lawyers. They're too careful with their words."

"Like a Slytherin?"

He nodded. "Exactly."

They sat in comfortable silence once more, basking in each other's presence."I started my job," Hermione offered eventually.

"Is that why you look like you haven't been getting much sleep recently?" He reached over and ran a thumb under her eye, where the skin was darkened from loss of sleep.

Hermione shivered slightly at the contact, but did her best to hide it.

"You're not looking much better," she said. The bruises under his eyes were almost as pronounced as the ones under hers.

"I don't sleep well in hotels. Other people have used the beds, which disturbs me to no end – why're you laughing?"

Hermione continued giggling. "You're so... spoiled."

He frowned in irritation before smiling slightly at her, it was impossible not to join in with her light-hearted laughter.

* * *

Hermione slept better that night. It was nice knowing that Draco was no longer actively searching for a way to get rid of her. She woke up the next morning in an exceptionally good mood, humming as she showered and dressed for work.

Cupcake, who had taken to curling up under her hair while it spread out over her pillow as she slept, chattered angrily and blew a puff of smoke in her direction for making all that noise so early. Crookshanks had long ago left the room in disgust; he wasn't really a morning cat.

Smiling radiantly, Hermione scooped up the irate dragon and skipped down the hall to Draco's room. The only thing she could see of him was a splash of gold against the dark green of his overly-Slytherin sheets. The Malfoys seemed to take house loyalty to a ridiculous level, Hermione suspected it was a Pureblood thing, as the Weasleys were much the same.

Now, normally, she would have respected boundaries better, but there was just no keeping her mood down that day, and when she was in a good mood she tended to try and spread her happiness. It felt like the first day of spring to her; the depressing winter was over and she wanted to spread her happiness. She set Cupcake on the ground, smiling when he glared at her and slunk under the bed to go back to sleep.

With a huge, slightly evil grin, she launched herself at the unsuspecting lump on the bed.

"Ooof!" Draco groaned when she collided with him. He blinked his sleepy eyes open and looked at her smiling face. "To what do I owe this plea-"

His sentence cut off when she kissed him.

"Isn't today wonderful?" Hermione asked when she pulled away from the bewildered but pleased blond.

"It's started out pretty good, but I think this wonderful day can wait a little longer," he mumbled. His arms came up and tightened around her before he flipped them over. His blond head rested against her chest and he went back to sleep.

Hermione stroked his soft hair, watching as the strands flowed across her fingers like liquid gold. He was heavy, but not enough to squish her, just enough to make her feel somehow safe.

"Draco, I have to go to work," she said reluctantly.

He groaned and held her tighter. "I'll double your pay; you can be my pillow today."

Hermione laughed at the tempting offer, jostling his head a little as she shook with amusement. As appealing as staying was, she had to get to the office before her staff managed to bring down the department without her guidance. They weren't incompetent, but she had a habit of micromanaging everything, a tendency she developed from trying to keep Ron on top of his schoolwork so he didn't fail everything.

Eventually, she managed to free herself and left for work, still in her wonderful mood.


	16. Peach Roses and Fancy Dresses

**Chapter 15: Peach Roses and Fancy Dresses**

**A/N: Thanks to everyone who wished me good luck on my move! I actually moved today, and I'm so tired I don't want to move. Luckily for you guys, posting a new chapter doesn't involve much movement. Also thanks to harrypotterluver123 for betaing and to everyone who reviewed!**

**~Frosty**

Her good mood lasted throughout the day and still surrounded her like a happy blanket when she returned to the Manor. Smiling at herself in the mirror, Hermione braided her hair into a thick rope and wrapped it around her head in a coronet.

She'd promised Narcissa that she would help her in the garden to repair some of the damage that the lions and Cupcake had done. There were uprooted topiaries left and right mixed in with craters from when the ground was wet and Cupcake hand had landed too hard.

Sure, they'd hired a team of gardeners to fix the damage, but Narcissa had claimed that the plebeian gardeners couldn't possibly meet her vision for the grounds, so they needed plenty of supervision. Apparently, she didn't consider Hermione as plebeian as the gardeners, because the brunette was going to be there to help 'direct the incompetents'. Narcissa may have softened towards Hermione, but that didn't mean everyone around her was going to get the same treatment.

When Cupcake saw the way Hermione was wearing her hair, the tiny dragon launched himself at her with an excited screech. He flew up onto her head and perched there, holding onto the braid with his tiny, razor-sharp claws. It seemed that he'd been dying to ride around on her head, but hadn't had anything to hold onto without digging his claws into her scalp.

Laughing at her pet's enjoyment of the added height, she slipped off her work suit and donned a light, airy sundress that was more appropriate for garden work than her previous outfit. She knew full well that she probably wasn't going to be allowed to actually touch the dirt, but Hermione was looking forward to the time enjoying the fresh air regardless.

Outside, the gardeners appeared to be living in fear of Narcissa, who was sitting under an umbrella at a small table and sipping lemonade in a large, floppy sun hat. The workers were all shooting her nervous looks out of the corners of their eyes and twitching when she moved too quickly. Those Malfoys sure knew how to intimidate; Hermione wasn't sure she'd ever manage it with the skill she'd seen the family exhibit.

The dragon resting on Hermione's head drew her a few strange looks from the staff, but she didn't pay them any mind as she smiled radiantly at Narcissa.

"You're in a good mood today," the blonde woman observed. "Did you and Draco make up? I swear I heard him _whistling _this morning."

Hermione smiled hugely at her, "he was trying to give me a choice; he didn't actually want to get rid of me." She knew she was grinning like an idiot, but she was just so _happy _about the news and wanted to share her happiness. Her mother-in-law seemed to genuinely wish them happiness, and it wasn't like Harry would be happy to hear about her reconciliation with Draco. In fact, Harry had probably been planning the demise of her husband and would be disappointed that he couldn't kill him.

Narcissa couldn't help but turn up the corners of her mouth in return. "These Malfoy men seem to be forever deciding what's best for everyone without actually finding out what anyone else thinks of their ideas," she said, her expression quickly turning dark. It seemed that Narcissa hadn't been entirely supportive of Lucius' decision to side with Voldemort – or, that's what Hermione surmised from the woman's words.

Visibly shaking off the dark melancholy that had descended on her, Narcissa's smile came back. "You're good for him, you know. He's happy. You're good for me too, it's nice to be in the company of someone who isn't pretending to be kind while thinking snarky comments about how my shoes don't quite match my robes – not that that ever happens."

Her comment startled a laugh out of Hermione. "I probably wouldn't be able to tell if they matched or not, I don't have the best fashion sense."

Narcissa joined in with Hermione's laughter, making several of the gardeners look over at them worriedly.

Hermione noticed the wary looks they were getting. "Why're they so afraid of you?" she asked the older woman.

"One of them had the nerve to bring over _peach _coloured roses. Can you _imagine_?" Her regal nose wrinkled in distaste and horror.

Hermione didn't even ask what Narcissa had done to the poor gardeners; she really didn't want to know. As an employee of the ministry, she'd probably be required to report whatever it was anyway, so it was best not to ask.

They watched the workers for two hours, directing them when they tried to do unthinkable things like plant peach roses instead of white. Hermione reflected that she had definitely fallen down the rabbit hole, and seemed to be having tea with the Queen of Hearts. If Narcissa ordered them to paint the peach roses white, she was getting out of there before the beheadings began.

"Why is there a dragon clinging to your hair?" Draco asked, coming up behind the pair.

Hermione tilted her head up to look at him upside down over the back of her chair. Cupcake screeched in irritation and flew to land on top of Narcissa's umbrella while Draco laughed and bent down to kiss the bottom of his wife's chin.

They both missed the surprised widening of Narcissa's eyes. She knew her son liked the girl, but this... this looked more like love; open affection in front of witnesses was not something a Malfoy took lightly. Draco hadn't even hugged either of his parents in public since before he started at Hogwarts.

"I see you're still in a good mood," Draco said as he came around to the front of Hermione and nodded to his mother in greeting.

Narcissa conjured him a chair so he could join them.

She watched the young couple closely. Hermione was sipping her lemonade and smiling at everything while Draco wore a secret smile directed at the girl. They were everything she had wished her marriage could be as a young girl. If she wasn't so dignified, Narcissa would have let out a wistful sigh just watching them.

"Should I be preparing the nursery for grandchildren?" She asked.

Hermione spit her mouthful of lemonade all over Draco and started coughing, effectively erasing the happy expressions from both their faces. A quickly muffled chuckle sounded from one of the gardeners, but Draco silenced it with a fierce glare around the garden that promised a painful death to the next person to even _move _wrong. The workers immediately went back to work, a little paler than previously.

Once she was finished and gasping for air, the redness slowly fading from her cheeks, Hermione shot Narcissa and then Draco a wide-eyed, terrified look.

"I can't have kids yet," she croaked, her voice still rough from coughing. They didn't expect her to start popping out heirs now that Draco wasn't trying to divorce her... did they?

"No one's expecting you to have children any time soon," Draco soothed, shooting a glare at his mother for even bringing it up.

Narcissa shrugged and looked away with a secret smile; the idea was in their heads now, they were going to have to start discussing the future.

What Draco had meant to be words of comfort obviously had the opposite effect. All of the colour drained from Hermione's face and she abruptly stood up. "Excuse me," she mumbled before fleeing to the house.

Immediately, Draco turned on his mother. "Did you have to go and scare her like that? She was so happy today," he said venomously. Ah, there was the son she was used to. The whistling she'd heard in the morning had been as disturbing as finding out Lucius was secretly a centipede wearing a wizard suit would have been... Well, possibly less disturbing than that, but it was still strange.

"I know she's just starting out her career, but it's her duty to bear you an heir and I thought it was time to remind her that everything isn't fun and games."

Draco snorted, thinking that conceiving an heir would probably count as 'fun and games'. While he'd enjoy it, he knew neither of them was near ready for a child. He sent one last glare at his smugly smiling mother before he stood and went after Hermione.

He found her hiding in the library trying not to hyperventilate.

"What's wrong?" He asked, hesitant to approach her in case he only worsened her panic.

"I can't have children!"

"You physically can't?" That would pose a problem for producing heirs, but they could always adopt or find another alternative. She didn't honestly expect him to try and get rid of her for that, did she?

"No, I'm _able _to... I just _can't_!"

Ah, now he understood a little better.

"Hermione, we're just out of Hogwarts and have only been married a little while. You've just started your career and we're still young. No one's expecting us to reproduce anytime soon." He soothed, sitting down beside her. For someone so smart, she seemed to be difficult to reason with when she fell into one of her panics.

"Do you... want to have a baby with me?" She asked tentatively.

"One day? Yes. Now? Merlin no. Can you imagine _me _trying to change a diaper?" He moved close to her and slung an arm around her still shaking shoulders. "We can start practicing whenever you want though."

She whacked him and smiled. "I'm not sure I'm ready for that kind of... practice yet."

He kissed her forehead. "The second you're ready, I'm here."

Hermione laughed again. She was pretty sure he literally wanted to know the second she was ready. It was nice to feel wanted.

"I'm going to play matchmaker," she told him, slightly embarrassed about the direction their conversation had taken and eager to move on to something else.

Draco was confused. "For who?"

"Your parents."

"They're already married," he said, still confused.

"They may be married, but they don't speak to each other and they're both lonely, I can see it. They're just too proud to admit it."

"They've been married for years, if there's anything there, I'm pretty sure they would've found it by now." The blond said skeptically. He knew her heart was in the right place, but his parents worked best as a couple when they were at opposite ends of their very large house.

Hermione huffed at his lack of faith in her and started planning. What she needed was some way to get them together in the same room, something that hadn't happened since Crookshanks had infiltrated the Manor and forced them all into that safe-house.

He watched as her eyes lit up with an idea, a little pang of dread growing in his stomach. Draco had a feeling he wasn't going to like her plan.

"You're taking me out to dinner."

Oh, that wasn't so bad. He'd actually enjoy that, but he didn't see how it would fit it with getting his parents together... "I'm not opposed to that, but I feel like there's some kind of catch."

"We're bringing your parents as well."

Draco groaned; he knew he wasn't going to like whatever it was that she would come up with. There was something about trying to get his parents to love each other that was disturbing on several levels.

He smirked as an idea occurred to him. If he was going to go along with her plan, then she was going to have to wear a dress. A very fancy dress that he was going to choose... and it was going to be a surprise.

* * *

Hermione looked wearily at the garment that had appeared on her bed. Draco's one condition for the dinner they were going to attend this evening was that he got to choose her outfit. She'd been assuming that he was going to rifle through her closet and pick something out of there, but she now realized how silly that had been of her; he was a Malfoy, and as such, used any occasion as an excuse to throw around piles of money.

The dress he'd provided was certainly a fine example of his extravagant spending habits. From the luxurious but light feeling of the fabric, she guessed it had cost enough to feed a village for a year. It was more form-fitting than she'd normally wear, and the neckline plunged lower than she was comfortable with. And it was Slytherin green.

She couldn't exactly keep standing there in her knickers warily eyeing the garment. Closing her eyes and taking a deep breath, she slid the dress over her head. It settled against her skin, caressing her curves and flowing as she moved over to the mirror. The neckline didn't plunge near as far as she'd thought, though she would have to be careful about her leaning or someone might get an eyeful.

Draco slipped into the room unnoticed and came up behind her, looking over her form in the mirror. "I have excellent taste," he said smugly. "It just needs _one _little thing..."

Hermione watched in confusion as he pulled something out of his pocket. He strung the necklace around her neck and clasped it, pulling her hair out from under it.

"There, now it's perfect." He pronounced.

She smiled at him and looked down at the necklace. "Draco, this is too expensive. It probably cost more than I make in a year..."

"Three years actually, but it's not like I can't afford it. I have obscene amounts of money, remember?"

Her mouth opened to object, but Draco covered it with his hand, leaning close to her ear. "I agreed to do this dinner for you if you agreed to wear whatever I supplied without objection. Now do you want to continue to object and have me back out because you broke your word?"

The sigh that escaped her lips brushed against his fingers and made him smirk. He knew he'd won. Leaning down, he kissed her cheek before removing the hand from her mouth and allowing her personal space once again.

Smoothing her dress one last time, Hermione stepped away from the mirror and accepted the arm Draco was holding out for her. Now that he wasn't standing behind her, she was free to look over his outfit. He was wearing robes just as formal as her dress, making him look dashing and handsome. Fancy dinners were his element, while they only made her uncomfortable. Maybe she should have made the lot of them go on a picnic, somewhere more within her own comfort zone.

They met his parents in the front foyer. Hermione didn't know how he'd gotten them to agree to come out with them, and she thought it was probably best that she didn't ask. There were many, many things in her new life that she didn't ask about; it was strange that she wasn't as bothered by it as she would have thought.

"You look lovely Narcissa," Hermione said with a smile.

The older woman smiled back and looked Hermione up and down, assessing. "You look lovely as well; I didn't know you have such good taste in dresses."

Draco snorted and Hermione blushed.

"Draco chose the dress," she mumbled.

All three Malfoys chuckled at her comment and then looked at each other with surprise, obviously not used to hearing sounds of open amusement from one another.

Hermione took it upon herself to break the silence. "Should we be going now?"

They all Apparated to the excessively expensive restaurant where Draco had reserved them a table at Hermione's request – despite his protests that as Malfoys they only had to show up to be provided with a table. The maître d' nearly tripped over his feet in the rush to personally show them to the best table in the restaurant.

When they were all seated at the table, Lucius looked at his son. "What is the meaning of calling this gathering?" He demanded.

The younger Malfoy glanced at his wife, wondering what she wanted him to say. He'd had to call one of the old traditions into play to get his Father to agree to have dinner with them; it stated that should any one member of the Malfoy family have important business to discuss, the other members were obligated to hear them out. Draco could only hope whatever Hermione had planned went well, ; otherwise he would be on the wrong end of his father's temper.

"Narcissa, did you know that Lucius sneaks into the kitchen in the middle of the day to eat huge plates of pancakes?" Hermione suddenly said. Silence reigned over their table for a moment. It felt like the entire restaurant had stopped talking, even though it was impossible anyone had heard Hermione's soft voice.

Narcissa turned to her husband with a look of shock. "You... eat pancakes?"

He nodded, trying to look composed, but there was a very slight pink tinge to his cheeks. The glare he shot Hermione could have corroded lead, but she just answered with a cheery smile; she was starting to get used to death-glares, they were losing their effect.

Draco could only stare in disbelief at his wife. The move she'd just pulled held enormous potential for disastrous failure; had she allowed him to know the plan ahead of time, he would have advised against the whole thing. Which was probably why she hadn't told him anything. So far, the plan seemed to consist of blurting out the secrets she'd accumulated. He leant back, thinking her plan was going to take a while; they were Slytherins, they had _many _secrets.

"Since when have you eaten pancakes? I thought you were above sweets?" Narcissa asked.

"I've always eaten pancakes. I thought it was _you _who thought you were above sweets." He said, turning his chair slightly so he was facing her more.

Hermione grinned victoriously. He was interested, and it was a start.

"Not me!" Narcissa exclaimed. "The elves keep a stash of Muggle candy bars in the pantry for me. I sneak down to the kitchens in the middle of the night to eat them sometimes."

Draco was starting to look disturbed. He ordered wine from a passing waiter and drank most of the first glass down in one gulp. His parents were too absorbed in staring at each other to notice, but Hermione did. She raised an eyebrow at him and took a drink of her own glass of wine to match his.

Silence briefly descended over them when the waiter returned with their food.

"Lucius, did you know Narcissa is terrified of centipedes?" Hermione asked. She hummed in contentment as she put a forkful of her pasta in her mouth. The plate of it probably cost an atrocious amount of money, but it was _delicious. _

Draco and his father turned to the older woman in surprise.

Narcissa took another sip of her wine and nodded, smiling slightly. "Completely terrified. Hermione found me on a table in the library, screaming like a banshee."

Chuckling, Lucius slid his hand over and covered his wife's, earning him a surprised but pleased look from her. And making Draco turn slightly green and take another gulp of his wine.

By the time their dinner was over, they'd emptied three bottles of wine and some of a fourth between the four of them. Lucius and Narcissa had pretty much forgotten about the younger two in their eagerness to learn more about one another. It was actually ridiculous that they were so busy hating each other in all their years of marriage that they'd never bothered to really talk. The fact that their house was so large it was possible to only meet the other occupants once a week for dinner didn't help either. It was like the two of them were on a very successful first date with someone they'd thought they knew but were wrong about all along.

Draco shot Hermione a look of horror and accusation when Lucius leaned over and murmured something to his wife while she giggled.

"The psychological trauma you've caused can never be reversed," Draco said quietly.

The brunette just smiled at him and patted his cheek. "I'll think of some way to get your mind off of it when we get back."

His eyebrows shot up into his hair immediately and he looked around at their plates. Everyone seemed to be finished. "Does anyone want dessert, or are we finished?" He asked.

"I'll be having my dessert when we get back," Lucius said, eyeing his wife hungrily. Narcissa smiled at him and accepted the arm he offered.

Draco did a full-body shudder of revulsion. "For my own sanity, I'm going to choose to think they're going to have the elves prepare them something."

Shaking her head and chuckling, Hermione finished her glass of wine while Draco left a small pile of gold on the table to pay for their meal.


	17. Awkward Mornings

**Chapter 16: Awkward Mornings**

**A/N: The actual 'awkward morning' part of this chapter is one of my favourite scenes in this entire story. I hope you guys enjoy it and can't wait to hear what you have to say! On that note: you guys are awesome! 35 reviews for one chapter in just over 24 hours is a new record for me! Think of the early posting of this chapter as my thanks.**

**As always, thanks to harrypotterluver123 for betaing!**

**~Frosty**

They Apparated back to the Manor, stumbling a little upon their arrival because of the wine. Apparation was difficult enough under normal circumstances, never mind under those of questionable sobriety.

Draco wrapped his arms around Hermione– partially to steady them both and partially because he wanted to be closer to her. He looked down at her. "I believe you've promised to distract mffrmp-"

The brunette took it up herself to start distracting him midsentence as they stood in front of her room. She yanked his face down to where she could reach it and mashed her mouth against his. If her kiss was a little shaky and slightly off centre, Draco wasn't going to complain. He was just happy she'd initiated the contact.

Using the grip she had around his neck, Hermione pulled him into her room as she walked backwards. When the backs of her legs hit her bed she let herself fall, pulling Draco down on top of her.

Draco was thoroughly distracted from that thing he wasn't thinking about as he tugged the clips out of her hair so he could run his hands through it. The unruly mane fell in waves down her back, releasing the floral scent of her shampoo from between the strands, where it had been lying in wait for someone to free it. The strands flowed over his fingers like cool silk, fascinating him.

While he was focused on her hair, Hermione had somehow managed to hike her dress up to her arms. Always happy to help if it involved bearing more skin, Draco released her hair and lifted the dress up over her arms for her. He immediately descended on her neck, placing tingling kisses and nipping his way along her collarbone.

Suddenly, Hermione rolled them so she was sitting on top of him and grinned. She started unbuttoning his shirt; she was bearing entirely too much skin and it was time to even the odds. As she progressed downwards, Hermione was pressing her lips to every new centimetre of skin.

His hands shot up to cover hers when she got to his pants and started undoing his belt. "You're not ready," he reminded her, cursing himself for caring but knowing he was going to regret it if he didn't stop her. It was a horrible time for his long-asleep conscience to suddenly make itself heard.

She pouted at him. "I am so."

She tugged her hands from his and ran them down his chest, lightly scraping her nails over his skin. Goosebumps sprouted in the wake of her fingers. Draco groaned; she wasn't going to make doing the right thing easy on him.

Pulling himself into a sitting position, Draco leant against the headboard of her bed. He lifted her off of his lap and set her beside him. "I'll believe you if you tell me the same thing when you're sober." He said.

Hermione pouted some more, but he refused to relent, wrapping an arm around her to hold her firmly at his side. Eventually, she accepted that there wasn't going to be any swaying him and settled down under the covers. As he got up to leave, her hand shot out and grabbed his.

"Stay with me?" She asked in a tiny voice, going from seductress to small child in seconds.

The woman was determined to kill him! He couldn't deny her though, she sounded like a scared little kid that didn't want to be alone. With a huge sigh, he settled under the blankets and let her settle against him, making a mental note to never again allow her near wine, he wasn't sure he'd survive it.

* * *

When Hermione heard her door open, her eyes popped open and looked down at the knickers and bra that were the only things covering her. Quickly, she jerked the blankets up to her chin, inadvertently covering the blond head resting on her shoulder as he slept.

Narcissa poked her head around the door to see if Hermione was sleeping and smiled when she noticed the younger woman was staring at her blearily.

"What do you need Narcissa?" Hermione asked sleepily. She desperately hoped that Draco would stay asleep, or at least know to stay hidden.

"I just came to thank you," the older woman gushed. Her cheeks had a slight pink tinge and her eyes had a sparkle Hermione hadn't seen before. Dear Merlin, she better not go into the details of _why _she was thanking her. "Lucius was so _passionate _when he-"

"I swear to Merlin if you finish that sentence I'm going to Avada myself," Draco said, pulling the blanket off of his head and sitting up. His grey eyes were glaring a warning at his mother. A headache was pounding in his skull and he'd been sleeping peacefully with Hermione in his arms until she'd interrupted with her disturbing news. Draco was _not _pleased with her.

Hermione whacked him for being rude, but was glad that he'd stopped his mother from finishing the sentence. She didn't need to know what it was that made Lucius Malfoy passionate.

Narcissa looked like her eyes were going to pop out of her head, going from Draco's bare chest to Hermione and back again. Draco refrained from his usual line of 'it's not what it looks like' just so she could go through some of the mental trauma he'd recently experienced. He was spiteful like that, but Hermione couldn't exactly blame him.

His mother left the room pretty quickly after that, mumbling to Hermione that she'd talk to her later. It seemed that Draco's timely intervention may not have mattered after all. She sincerely hoped that Narcissa would rethink sharing her night before the time came for their 'talk' later.

Draco glared at the closed door and then at Hermione. "This is your fault, you know. They were fine before, when they didn't do anything but glare frostily at everyone. We just get the Dark Lord out of the house, now I have to deal with _this._"

"Don't be selfish, Draco. They're happier now. You never know; maybe you'll even get a sibling."

Hermione tried to sit up, but found that her aching head objected, so she settled back against the headboard. "Thanks for being so sweet last night," she mumbled, looking away from him. Her actions the night before were mortifying and she wanted to get her thanks out of the way so she could forget them.

"Mention it to anyone and I'll deny it, and I won't be so nice if you try something like that again." He said as he got up.

When he passed her, he pressed a kiss to her temple and pretended he didn't notice and preen under the look she'd directed at his exposed chest. He was directing a similar one at what little of her had become visible when Narcissa had left and she'd let the blanket fall, but Hermione wasn't the type to preen.

"It'll be hard to top yesterday if we're going to do something fun today," Hermione sighed, wondering what she was going to do with the rest of her weekend.

"Sorry, some mates are coming over tonight for drinks and poker. I'm going to have to pass on whatever you have planned." Draco was genuinely regretful that he had to turn her down when she so obviously wanted to include him in her plans, but he'd made arrangements to meet his friends and didn't want to break them.

Pursing her lips, Hermione tilted her head to the side and planned what she was going to do with her day. She had a feeling Lucius and Narcissa wanted to be occupied with each other for quite a while and Draco was going to be busy.

"I have to go gather the alcohol if we're having a poker night," Draco said regretfully. He swept one last look over Hermione and slipped out the door.

Cupcake slipped in through the open door and flew to land on Hermione's bed. He chirped at her and crawled up her shoulder to tug on her hair.

Tilting her head to contemplate the tiny dragon, Hermione smiled. She'd realized what he wanted. A wave of her wand had her hair braided and wound around her head in the coronet he'd been so excited about before. Cupcake made his dragon purr and flew up to perch on her braids.

With a sigh, Hermione pulled herself out of her comfortable bed and wandered to her closet to put on some clean clothes. Maybe she'd pay another trip to Harry's house.

Quickly throwing on something to make herself presentable, she grabbed a handful of the Floo powder and disappeared into a whirl of emerald flames.

"Harry?" Hermione called when she arrived at Grimmauld Place.

"Hermione?" A voice that was _not _Harry answered.

Ginny launched herself out of the kitchen and tackled her friend. "Hermione I missed you. How've you been? You look _happy_! Why is the dragon on you head?" She asked in a rush without loosening her death-grip.

The brunette was used to answering Ginny's questions, so she wasn't thrown off by how rapid they were. "I've missed you too. I've been fine. I _am _happy. Cupcake likes it when I braid my hair so he can ride on my head."

Harry walked into the room then. "You look much less miserable today," he said.

"I _am _less miserable. You two wouldn't _believe _the day I had yesterday." She launched into the story of her night with Lucius and Narcissa, leaving out what had happened with Draco after they got back. Harry and Ginny were laughing hysterically by the time she was finished.

"I almost feel sorry for Malfoy," Harry laughed, Ginny nodding in agreement.

Hermione snorted. "Don't. He'll live. In fact, he's having his friends over tonight to get completely smashed and play poker." Sure, Draco hadn't said they were planning on getting drunk, but she was almost positive it was implied.

Immediately, Harry looked worried. "Hermione, are you going to be all right in a house full of Slytherins? _Drunk _Slytherins?"

"I _always _live in a house full of Slytherins. They're just like normal people, except sneakier... and with a hatred of lawyers." Hermione dismissed, unworried. The Manor was so large she probably wouldn't even see one of them unless she went looking.

Cupcake screeched in distress as he tried to reach to Ginny and lost his balance. He flailed a little and accidently grabbed onto Hermione's forehead for stability, leaving five parallel scratches down her skin in his efforts to regain his balance.

Hermione flinched and pulled him from her head, cradling him in her arms as she tried to soothe his distressed cries. It seemed that Cupcake was quite upset that he'd scratched her.

Ginny took the dragon from her while Harry pressed a napkin to her bleeding head.

"The dangers of having pets with sharp claws," Hermione chuckled. It really was just a scratch. It hurt, but she'd had much worse. The cuts probably weren't even deep enough to scar.

Knowing that Ginny was only visiting her boyfriend until nightfall when one of her brothers or parents would come a retrieve her, Hermione only chatted for a few more minutes before taking her leave.

Cupcake curled around her neck and rubbed his head against the underside of her jaw as she stepped into the fire. The poor little guy seemed to be really taking it hard that he'd accidently hurt her.

The change in the dragon from the large, murderous monster to the small, harmless creature was startling. Maybe that was the secret to handling the aggression of dragons; make them tiny.

Hermione stayed in her room when she got back to the Manor, it was starting to get late and she just didn't feel like keeping on her toes on the off chance that she run into a drunk Slytherin while wandering the halls.

She settled into her bed with a book for the evening.

Cupcake chirped sadly at her before sitting in front of the door. It seemed he wanted to go pout by himself for a while. She signed, but opened it for him so that he could slip into the hallway and go hide somewhere.

* * *

It was almost two in the morning when her door cracked open and heavy footsteps thumped over to her bed. She'd left it open a bit in case Cupcake returned and wanted to sleep under her hair like he usually did. Hermione was deeply asleep and didn't stir as a weight settled on the bed beside her.

"Think you can turn _me _into a donkey for touching you... I'll show you, you stuck-up swot," the figure muttered menacingly, leaning over her.

Hermione's eyes snapped open when she felt a hand on her waist. It was too meaty and clammy to be Draco's. She was only confused until it pressed too hard on her skin and then slid up to her chest. That's when she started screaming. Cold trails of dread made their way down her back and lodged deep in the pit of her stomach; she was defenceless.

Another hand came up to cover her mouth and she tried to struggle against the body that descended on top of her.

It didn't take her long to realize that struggle wasn't getting her anywhere, but that didn't stop her from trying. Her kicks and punches were useless against his sheer bulk and strength. She was terrified and shaking, and tears were starting in her eyes, but still continued to fight fiercely. He just laughed at her and started to push her shirt up her stomach.

Suddenly, her door burst open with a bang and Cupcake launched himself at Goyle's back with a snarl, using his tiny claws and teeth to hurt him as much as possible. The Slytherin screamed and fell off of Hermione immediately.

Draco darted into the room, followed closely by Theo and Blaise. The blond descended on his former friend and started punching him while Hermione pulled her legs to her chest and took shuddering, relieved breaths to accompany her tears. She was safe.

Taking it upon themselves to stop their temperamental blond friend from committing murder, Blaise and Theo each grabbed one of his arms and pulled him away from the bleeding from on the floor.

"What the _hell _were you thinking?" Draco demanded in a dangerous voice when he'd reigned in his rage enough to regain the use of speech.

Cupcake gave one last vicious nip to Goyle before flying over to Hermione and wrapping around her neck in a little dragon hug. He head-butted her jaw, disturbed by her trembling.

"It was obvious she wanted it," Goyle said, leaning to leer at the girl on the bed around the three people blocking her from view.

"What in Merlin's name made you think she wanted you? Was it the tears or the screams of terror? Because I don't know what you've been doing with girls until now, but that's not supposed to happen," Blaise said while Draco was once again wordless with rage.

He shook off the grip his friends had on his arms and turned his back on his former friend. Hermione was a strong person and he'd been seeing much too much of her tears since he'd married her. Slowly, in case she was still in panic mode, Draco approached her and sat down on the bed, a safe distance away.

His caution was unnecessary; as soon as he was near enough, she threw herself into his arms and buried her face in his neck. Cupcake flew away to land on Blaise, who started but didn't remove the small dragon.

"Get him out of here; I want him away from the Manor before I kill him." Draco ordered his friends. They nodded and grabbed Goyle under the arms to drag him out of the room.

Hermione sniffled and cleared her throat so she could speak. "Wait! Just lock him somewhere; I want to have some words with him." Her voice could be just as dangerous and scary as Draco's when she wanted it to be.

The two looked at her with surprise for a moment before glancing at Draco, who nodded, a hint of a proud smirk lingering in the corner of his lips. They pulled the goon from the room, making sure to 'accidently' drop him to the carpet a few times on the trip.

When they were gone, Draco hugged Hermione tight to himself, finally showing how worried he'd been. "Don't worry about him; by the time I'm finished, he won't be able to walk, much less harass anyone ever again."

Hermione gave a watery chuckle."What _is _it with you Malfoys and offering acts of violence as an attempt to comforting people?"

"What's more comforting than knowing your enemies are writhing in pain?" He seemed to be asking a genuine question. Hermione just shook her head a little at him.

She rested her head on his chest, needing the comfort for a little longer. Something about the steady thudding of his heart right under her ear calmed her down as few other things could. "How'd you know what he was doing?"

"Cupcake came in and landed in the middle of our poker game a few hours ago, so we knew you were here. The blasted dragon scattered chips everywhere and dumped a few drinks, we had to start the game over again."

She smiled at the mental picture.

"And then Goyle got up, said he needed to use the loo, but he didn't come back after a while. Then I remembered what he'd done to you just after the wedding, and we thought it might be best that we check on you, just in case. It was a good thing we did..."

Hermione nodded, soothed by his closeness and voice. She was still a little shaky, but she knew the danger was over and her shakes would subside eventually. Pulling away from Draco, she grabbed her wand and stood.

Draco followed her as she determinedly left the room, pursuing the sounds of Theo and Blaise talking quietly. When they saw that she wasn't even crying anymore and was walking towards them, they both raised their eyebrows in identical expressions of surprise. They'd expected her to fall apart once she was alone with Draco.

'Gryffindor,' Draco mouthed from behind her, causing their expressions to turn into amused understanding.

"I need to get in there and see him," Hermione announced. They obediently stepped aside to allow her to pass. Her grin was menacing as she closed the door behind her.

Almost as soon as the door clicked into place, the screaming started. Goyle sounded absolutely terrified. She was only in there for a moment, but to Goyle it probably seemed like a millennia.

Blaise and Theo shot each other worried looks, but Draco didn't seem concerned. His proud smirk only got bigger the longer Goyle screamed.

Hermione made sure to close the door behind her when she exited into the corridor once more. The three waiting Slytherins were looking at her again.

"What did you _do _to him? Theo asked worriedly.

"Don't worry, nothing illegal. And he won't die." The brunette tilted her bushy head to the side, doing some fast calculations. "Probably," she amended after a moment. That said, she strode back down the hall and returned to her room, obviously feeling less terrified by the whole situation already.

"Merlin, that was sexy – scary, but sexy." Theo murmured.

Draco and Blaise nodded their agreement, the blond still with a proud smirk on his face.


	18. Just Keep Walking Lucius

**Chapter 17: Just Keep Walking Lucius**

**A/N: Okay, so a lot of you are really eager to see what happened with Goyle and some of you want to know if Pansy's going to reappear. I'll do my best to fit both into the story, I already have some ideas, but they might not make it into the final cut.**

**As always, thanks to harrypotterluver123 for betaing! And thanks to everyone who took the time to review!**

**~Frosty**

For the next few days, Hermione kept catching Draco sending her worried looks when she was spending her spare time with him after work. She wasn't fragile and she wasn't made of glass, so there was no reason for him to keep looking at her like she was going to shatter at any moment. Hadn't she proven that she could handle herself when she'd made Goyle cry?

This time last year, Draco would have basked in the vulnerability she seemed to have and then used it to try and break her. She couldn't help but wonder if the worrying was always there underneath his thick shell of hatred or if it was something that had developed after being magically bound to protect her. There was always the possibility that it was C: both of the above.

"Stop it!" Hermione snapped, finally giving into the temptation to yell at him.

Her legs were tucked under her as she snuggled into the armchair in the Malfoy library _trying _to read. She kept losing her place because she could feel his eyes practically burning holes through her hair as she bent her head to read the pages in front of her.

Draco was perched on the adjacent armchair shooting her looks he thought were stealthy over the edges of his book. Considering he was a Slytherin, one would think he'd be better at sneaking glances. Maybe he just had no confidence in her ability to catch him staring. If that was the case, it was a little offensive how oblivious he thought her.

"Stop what?" He asked calmly with an eyebrow raised in a question.

Her dark eyes narrowed at him in annoyance; they both knew exactly what she was talking about.

"I'm not made of glass Draco. And I'm fine about what happened the other day with Goyle. I've exacted my revenge and know he's not going to be bothering me for a long time – or any other woman for that matter."

He didn't look convinced.

Hermione huffed irritably. There was one sure way to get him to stop looking at her like that, but she wasn't sure she wanted to start something with him because, to be entirely honest, she wasn't sure she'd win. Sure, it would solve his worrying problem, but the retaliation for her little idea probably wouldn't be pleasant. She wouldn't put it past Draco to hire bodyguards to follow her around 24/7 or something.

"You're just so defenceless though," he said with a smirk, knowing he was getting under her skin and enjoying it immensely. He didn't really see her as defenceless, he knew for a fact that she was dangerous with her wand, but she was quite a bit smaller than him, and sometimes it was easy to forget that she could protect herself just fine. It wasn't his fault he worried; it was hers for being so much _smaller_.

Scratch that; she was more than willing to start something with him. All she had to do was piss him off enough to make him forget that he saw her as breakable and remind him that he also saw her as an opponent. A _worthy _opponent, someone he had to work hard against in order to best. She was willing to admit that if they both tried their hardest against one another she wasn't sure which one of them would come out on top, they were that evenly matched.

With a glare at him and another huff of irritation, Hermione snapped her book shut and strode from the room. There were just so many ways to piss him off and only so much time until she got back from work tomorrow... Decisions, decisions.

* * *

Hermione's shoes clicked professionally on the floor of the Ministry corridor as she walked purposefully towards her goal. Yes, the marble floors were a waste of money that could have been better spent somewhere else, but the clacking of her shoes always made her feel so official, and that official appearance distracted people into believing that her mind wasn't elsewhere as she walked. That day, her mind was up to particularly devious things. Things her husband wasn't going to like at all.

Her secretary looked up from his desk as she approached her office. "You look... determined today Mrs. Malfoy." He said as she passed.

The brunette stopped her clicking and shuddered. "Please Claude, it's Miss. Granger or Hermione, calling me Mrs. Malfoy makes me feel weird."

"Of course, Hermione. You look awfully determined today, _Hermione_."

"I _am _determined today. I'm going to make my husband stop looking at me like I'm going to shatter by reminding him I'm a worthy opponent. I'm just not sure how to do that yet..."

As the entirety of her statement sunk in, a frown line developed between Claude's dark eyebrows. "Don't women like to feel safe and protected by their significant others?"

Hermione tilted her head to the side as her large brain worked on explaining her problem. "Sometimes it's nice to feel protected, but Draco's taking it too far right now. I feel more suffocated than safe, and there's a big difference between the two."

Satisfied with her explanation, Claude brought them back to the matter of her 'reminder'. He grinned evilly and clapped his hands in excitement. "You _have _to let me help!"

Taking in his devious grin and pleading eyes, Hermione just couldn't say no and crush his hopes. "What did you have in mind?" She asked.

"Oh, I wouldn't presume to know how to seek revenge better than a _Malfoy_, whether she likes to be called Malfoy or not."

"Well..." Hermione hesitated, not sure whether she should voice her idea. "I _do _have one idea, but I understand if you don't want to do it."

She leant over his desk and whispered her evil plan into his ear. It was perfect and Draco would most likely be incensed, but there was also a large possibility that Claude could be humiliated in the process. When she was finished outlining her idea, he looked at her in awe.

"You. Are. An. Evil. Genius!" He said excitedly. "Of _course _I'll go along with that... Just make sure he doesn't hex me?"

Hermione nodded, grinning back at him. She disappeared into her office to send an owl to her dearest husband, setting the plan in motion. Let the games begin.

* * *

"I can't believe I'm actually _inside _Malfoy Manor!" Claude said excitedly. He lifted a vase off of a table as he passed and peeked inside, as if he expected something wonderful to be hidden in there.

Gently, Hermione took it from him and placed it back on the table. She knew for a fact that there wasn't anything wonderful or magical hidden in the vases, unless there were flowers or something in them, they were empty. "Claude, if this is going to work, you have to be quiet," she whispered.

She'd owled Draco from work, asking him to meet her in her bedroom, because she was going to 'prove to him just how unafraid she was at night'. If he had taken that to be a thinly veiled promise of something sexual, that was his fault for misinterpreting her note. He seemed to think she'd have some issues sleeping without someone there to protect her, and she was going to prove to him that it was _him _who had the issues with her sleeping unprotected.

Cupcake chose that moment to come flying down the corridor, launching himself at Hermione's chest with a small, excited roar. His vocal chords may have been significantly smaller, but they could still produce quite a lot of sound when he put his mind to it.

Claude gave a distressed squeak and dove under the table the vase had been sitting on, knocking it to the ground, where it shattered. All three of them froze for a moment, hoping the racket wouldn't bring someone to investigate. They waited in silence for a while to see if anyone would come, but no one did, so they were able to relax again.

The dragon moved to Hermione's shoulder, looking down at the man on the floor with disdain. It would be understandable for him to be scared had the dragon been his previous size, but now the man had at least a hundred pounds on him and yet he still cowered like an oversized mouse.

Cupcake chose to ignore the little man, snuggling under the strands of hair that were resting on Hermione's shoulder. It had taken him a few days to get it through his spiky head that Hermione's scratch hadn't been his fault, but he'd eventually accepted that and went right back to climbing all over her like she was a living jungle gym.

"Claude, don't worry, he's harmless." She sighed, casting a repairing charm at the broken vase. Should any of the Malfoys try to sell the vase to an antiques dealer, then a spell would reveal that it had been repaired before and lessen the value, but otherwise, no one would be able to tell anything had happened to it.

"You really are ridiculously brave, aren't you?" He mumbled, keeping a weary distance from the small dragon. The rumours about Gryffindors and the Golden Trio were widespread, but a lot of people said it was just propaganda. He was starting to doubt his inclination to agree with the propaganda theory; his boss seemed immune to things that would leave a normal person trembling in fear.

Opening the door to her bedroom, Hermione just chuckled at him. The things she'd done during the war had been necessary, she'd never thought of herself as particularly brave. It was Harry who was brave, she'd only been along for the ride. Although she _did _live in a den of snakes with lions and a dragon... that could be taken as either bravery or stupidity.

She shook her head and moved to her closet, where she fished two boxes out from the depths.

"Wow, I figured you were feisty in the bedroom, but a trio of lions is kinkier than I'd imagined," Claude said when he saw the three lions and Crookshanks resting on the bed.

She rolled her eyes. "Claude, even if it's after work hours, I'm still your boss. Is that really an appropriate comment?"

It was a little disturbing that Claude had put some thought into how she acted in the bedroom, but for the sake of her sanity, she was going to pretend that he hadn't said anything.

"This one's yours, you can change in the closet and I'll go change in the loo." Hugging her own parcel to her chest and questioning the intelligence of her idea, Hermione slipped into the loo and shut the door.

"If what I just said to you was inappropriate, asking me to wear this is _way _over the line in superior/employee relations!" Claude called, loud enough to be heard through the door.

Hermione supposed he was right; she was being a bit of a hypocrite scolding him for inappropriate remarks and then asking him to wear _that_.

As she donned the lingerie, she peeked at herself in the mirror above the sink to take in the final effect. What she was wearing was downright modest when compared to some of the bathing-suits Draco had chosen for her. She was covered from her shoulders to knees by some atrocious, frilly, pink thing.

She was just turning to see how the back looked when a scream from her bedroom brought her out, wand in front of her for protection. Moody's 'constant vigilance' had stuck with her and she wasn't about to be caught unprotected; dying in the frilly thing she was wearing would just be humiliating.

Draco was standing over poor Claude, looking murderous, with his wand pressed hard enough into the man's neck that there was a deep indentation from the pressure. There would probably be a bruise there in the morning. "You have three seconds to tell me why you're wearing frilly pink lingerie in my wife's bedroom before I hex you so thoroughly your great-grandchildren will feel it," the enraged blond hissed, his voice at its most dangerous.

Claude snapped pleading, terrified eyes over to Hermione, who put her hands on her hips.

"Draco! Why're you threatening my guest?" She snapped.

His head turned to her in disbelief. "Dear Merlin, you're wearing _matching _negligees? I know you're not cheating on me, but this is awfully disturbing."

"You weren't supposed to be here for another half hour," Hermione told him, purposely ignoring the question about what she was doing that was behind his previous statement.

Grey eyes glaring, Draco regarded his wife. "And what was supposed to happen when I got here?"

Hermione looked at her feet and blushed, looking almost contrite. "I was going to wait until you were sleeping and you were going to wake up to Claude in my bed with you."

Making Draco so angry that he stopped treating her like glass had seemed like a good idea on paper, but she'd forgotten how scary he could get when pushed hard enough. Poor Claude looked like he was about to wet himself. She could only imagine what would have happened if Draco had woken up to find the man in bed with him. Perhaps she could have thought it through a little more thoroughly before putting the plan in action. Although, had the plot gone as planned, the experience would have made Draco hesitant to insist on sleeping with her in order to keep her safe, she wasn't sure it was worth the psychological trauma he would have dealt to her loyal secretary.

Draco's eyes darkened as they moved from Hermione to Claude and back again. "And _why _was it that you found it necessary to do this?" He asked quietly, making Claude start trembling in fear. The man had a Hufflepuff disposition if she'd ever seen one.

"Because I knew if you were pissed off, you'd remember I'm not _breakable_!"

He turned to completely faced her, removing his wand from poor Claude's neck. The expression on his face was that carefully blank one he liked to wear while looking right through someone, it hid his thoughts on what he saw and made the person even more uncomfortable.

"Well, you managed it. Congratulations." The former Slytherin growled, forgetting about the other man in the room and advancing on Hermione.

Claude scrambled to his feet once Draco's attention was no longer focused on him, but he hovered by the door, unsure if it was safe to leave Hermione there alone with the enraged blond. The Malfoy heir had already demonstrated that he wasn't opposed to issuing serious threats, and judging by his demeanour, Claude didn't doubt that the man would go through with them. He was worried about the safety of his boss. Briefly, he contemplated the idea of running to call Harry Potter, but he thought it best to see how things played out first, Hermione could still have a plan and didn't yet seem worried in the least.

Hermione crossed her arms and held her ground, refusing to be intimidated. A staring contest ensued as he came to stand toe-to-toe with her, leaning back slightly so he could look down at her face.

Heart beating quickly at his closeness, Hermione stared at him defiantly. Some of the anger in the forefront of his eyes softened slightly, changing to an expression just as dark, but one that made her shiver pleasantly. He was up to something.

Before she could move away from him, he'd grabbed her around the waist and propelled her backwards until her shoulder blades came into contact with the wall. He kissed her hard enough that her head would have bumped the wall, had his hand not been there to cushion the blow. It was an unexpected way of dealing with his anger, but Hermione wasn't opposed to it.

When his hands slid down her sides and over her hips, rubbing and tickling, she moaned quietly, forgetting Claude was in the room watching them with a mixture of horror and confusion. Draco's fingers slipped down to her upper thighs and lifted her up, pinning her against the wall using his weight. With nowhere to put her feet, Hermione was forced to wrap her legs around his hips for balance. If this was how he was going to punish her for plotting against him, then she was going to have to do it more often.

She knew there was something she was supposed to be remembering, but just couldn't bring herself to care enough to investigate the niggling feeling. More important things were distracting her, like Draco's tongue.

When Draco's mouth moved on from her lips to her neck, she bent her head to the side to give him better access and finally noticed Claude. The poor man was standing in the door, looking torn between fleeing and saving Hermione from the angry blond who was currently set on exploring her entire neck with his lips, tongue and teeth.

Hermione untangled a hand from Draco's hair to wave Claude away. Work was going to be awkward in the morning already; she didn't want him to still be there when Draco finished what he was doing and finally glanced around the room to realize they weren't alone. If her husband hexed him on top of everything else, she wasn't sure she'd be willing to show her face at the Ministry in the morning.

Satisfied that his boss was safe –not that he knew what he would've done had she been in actual danger- Claude slipped out into the hallway, making sure to shut the door behind him. He let out a fearful squeak when he came across another blond man just outside her door. The place was positively overrun with dangerous people! ... Probably because it was Malfoy Manor.

From his limited knowledge of the Malfoy family, he gathered he was currently face-to-face with Lucius Malfoy. His son was terrifying, but reputably the less dangerous one when compared with his father. The secretary's un-Slytherin mind couldn't even _comprehend _what the older man was capable of, and knowing this only made his fear worsen.

The regal Malfoy stopped and stared at the scared-looking man in a frilly pink thing that had just exited the bedroom of his daughter-in-law. "Just keep walking Lucius," he mumbled to himself, following his own advice and continuing on down the corridor. He was getting to old to deal with whatever it was that Draco and Hermione were up to. Was it possible they were just trying to disturb him as payback for dinner the other night?

Claude took the opportunity to slip into the nearest room with a fireplace and Floo home. His cat was never going to _believe _the stories he was going to share when he returned.

Back in the bedroom, Hermione was doing some very fast thinking – as fast as her lust muddled brain would allow her to think. "Draco," she gasped, pulling away from his mouth for air.

"Mmmm?" He hummed, merely moving onto her jaw so she could use her lips to ask whatever it was her oversized brain had thought up _now._

"What if I'm ready now?" She asked.

He stopped what he was doing and pulled back so he could see into her desire-glazed eyes. His were just as clouded with lust, but they were sharp as they judged her words.

Hermione had difficulty keeping her gaze locked on his, not sure what she'd do if he told her no again. She wasn't drunk this time, so he couldn't tell her the same thing he'd told her last time. Maybe he didn't want her after all and was just making excuses in an attempt to spare her feelings before.

His silence lasted so long that Hermione was starting to panic; what if he didn't want her and he was still finding ways to divorce her?

The whirring of her mind stopped when he pressed his mouth to hers once again in a bruising kiss meant to stop her thoughts.

"Don't start worrying about things, I was just making sure you were certain," he mumbled, not willing to move more than the tiniest fraction away from her welcoming warmth. His lips tickled hers as they formed the words, only a hair's breadth away from her own.

Draco didn't waste time carrying her to the bed and leaning over her – his legs were starting to get tired from holding up their combined weight.

Though nervous, Hermione was reassured by Draco's presence. She knew he wasn't going to hurt her, and his eyes kept focusing on hers to check that she was still okay as he unbuttoned her shirt.

Sure, she was scared, but Hermione had been on many terrifying adventures in her short life and this one promised to be more pleasurable than the rest of them – with the added bonus of not having to fear for her life at any point.

* * *

Hermione woke first the next morning, wrapped tightly in Draco's arms. She stayed still a moment, just revelling in his proximity, but was eventually forced to drag herself out of bed to head to work. Never had Draco's philosophy of not working been more appealing to her than it was at that moment. She wanted nothing more than to just lounge in bed with him all day, maybe move to the library to read if she was feeling really ambitious.

Very carefully, so as not to wake her bed partner, Hermione lifted his arm off of her and wiggled until she was at the edge of the bed and free to leave.

With one last look at the sleeping blond, she slipped into her washroom to have a shower.

As the hot water eased some of the ache that seemed to have developed overnight, Hermione replayed the events of the previous night in her head, starting with when she left the office. Her little plan hadn't exactly ended as she'd planned... And she was going to have some explaining to do to poor Claude when she got to work.

She sighed and exited the shower, not looking forward to the day at all. Claude was a shameless gossip sometimes and she was a little worried that the whole office would know about the happenings in her room the previous night – well, not _all _the happenings, but everything that had happened before Claude finally left, and that was enough for them all to think she was insane.

Draco was still sleeping peacefully when she re-entered her room and searched through her closet for something appropriate to wear. She wasn't making much noise, but she would have thought he'd sense that someone was up and about in the room where he was sleeping. In the past, had had always seemed to know when she was in his bedroom as he slept.

When she came out of the closet fully dressed, he had rolled over, but was still asleep. Hermione smiled fondly at him and padded over to kiss him on the cheek before leaving. It was a little upsetting that she hadn't been able to say goodbye properly, but she didn't want to be late for work, particularly if there were going to be rumours about her circulating around the place.

Claude was practically bouncing in his seat when she approached him. His desk was beside the door to her office, so there was no way she was going to be able to retreat inside the relative safety of her own space without first facing her overexcited secretary.

She sighed as she approached him, realizing that she probably owed the man an apology. "Listen Claude, I'm sorry about how Draco acted, he can be a little... volatile sometimes."

"I'll say," Claude said with a knowing grin on his face. "One minute he's about to Avada me and the next he's about to rip your clothes off and have his way with you, completely uncaring that I was _still in the room_." He looked Hermione up and down, "did you have a fun night boss lady?"

Blushing, Hermione frowned at him. "I don't see how that's any of your business," she told him primly, retreating into her office. If it wouldn't have been completely hypocritical of her, she'd have a talk with Claude on sexual harassment between coworkers.

The content smile on her face didn't make an appearance until her back was turned to her nosy employee, for which she was glad.


	19. The Magic of Muggle Movies

**Chapter 18: The Magic of Muggle Movies**

**A/N: To **elizaII**, you've disabled PM's so I can't answer your question. I'm not sure I ever said what colour Claude's hair is, but it's not blond. I'd love to see the picture if you're going to be posting it online somewhere!**

**Thanks to harrtpotterluver123 for betaing and thanks to everyone who reviewed! You guys are wonderful!**

**~Frosty**

Draco rolled over, feeling sated and content. He frowned when he realized that his ability to move unimpeded meant that Hermione was no longer in his arms as she'd been since she'd fallen asleep. This displeased him; ideally, she should have been there waiting for a smile, and possibly round two.

Without opening his eyes, he stretched out an arm to feel across the bed, hoping she had just shifted away slightly in her sleep so he could just pull her back into his arms, where she belonged. No such luck. That was going to be a problem. He wanted her with him, and as a Malfoy, he was accustomed to getting what he wanted.

When it became apparent that she wasn't anywhere within his reach, Draco reluctantly opened his eyes and scanned the room. She wasn't there.

His frown deepened into an all-out scowl. Where could she have gone? A sliver of worry lodged itself in his heart when he realized that maybe she regretted last night and had fled before he woke up. What kind of Gryffindor was she if she ran away from something as simple as regret?

A huff of irritation escaped his mouth as he extracted himself from the tangle of sheets. He was Draco Malfoy, most desirable male in Slytherin – in _any _of the houses. Why would anyone regret the _privilege _of spending a night with him? It was unheard of!

Stomping out of her room and into his own to shower, Draco muttered to himself about irritating Gryffindors who thought themselves too good for him. Never mind that he'd told himself the same thing not so long ago.

* * *

Hermione came back home hoping that Draco was waiting for her, but she looked everywhere and couldn't seem to find him. Slowly, her happy smile started to melt into a frown as she searched his room, hers, the library, and even the kitchens, where there was a serious risk of getting a bunch of food in her hair _again_.

Where in the world could he be? The wards told her that he was in the Manor somewhere, and if she knew he was there, he had to know she had arrived back from work, so why was he avoiding her?

Her frown turned into a scowl when she realized that it was possible he was regretting their actions the previous night. Maybe when he woke up in the morning, his forgotten blood prejudices had come back with a vengeance. It was unlikely, but still possible. Well, if he was going to avoid her instead of _talking _to her about it like the adults they were supposed to be, then she wasn't going to hunt him down.

She settled down in the library with a book to take her mind off of the immature prat she was married to. The story was more interesting than she'd anticipated and it quickly sucked her in to an intriguing myth about a ghost that went around killing people as vengeance for his unfair murder. Before she knew it, it was almost two in the morning and she could barely keep her eyes open.

With a sigh, she shut the book and replaced it on the shelf. Malfoy Manor had always been creepy, but she'd gotten used to the aura of the place in the time she'd lived there. The parts of the Manor not meant for intimidation were more homey than the public parts, but they were still disturbing after a ghost story. _Anything _could be disturbing after a good enough ghost story.

She wrapped her arms around herself and shivered as she made her way back to her room. It wasn't because she was scared! She wasn't. It was just that ghost stories unnerved her a little.

A glance down the hallway showed a sliver of light shining under Draco's door. Her decision to go in there and ask him why he was avoiding her had nothing to do with the ghost story and how ominous her dark room looked. _Nothing_.

Without knocking, she opened his door and stepped inside.

The glare he was directing at her from where he was reading on the bed was something she was completely unprepared for. She'd been expecting maybe a frown, but it wasn't like his immaturity was _her _fault, he didn't have to look at her like she'd done something wrong.

"Decided to show you face now?" He asked, sounding entirely too confrontational for someone who was only feeling regret or shame for being an immature wanker to his wife.

"What are you talking about?" Hermione demanded; her earlier fear forgotten as anger at his unfair treatment burned through her veins. Screw alcohol, there's nothing like anger to warm a person.

Draco put his book face down on the bed, completely disregarding the damage he was doing to the spine. She rightly assumed that now wasn't the proper time to give him a lecture on the proper treatment of books and didn't comment. But he'd hear about it later...

His icy eyes narrowed and he glared fiercely. "I'm _talking _about you creeping out of bed this morning like you were _ashamed_."

Confused, Hermione tilted her head to the side. "Is _that _what this is about? I didn't creep out of bed like I was ashamed, I crept out of bed like I was late for work but didn't want to wake you!"

He shuffled a little and looked away from her, pinkening slightly. "Oh."

Hermione had to fight off a grin at his sudden change in attitude. She was a little irritated at his assumptions about her, but she had experienced some of her own when she couldn't find him, so getting angry with him would just make her a hypocrite.

She watched as he turned back to the bed and picked up his book again. He glanced at her over the pages and motioned to the space beside him with his metallic eyes.

Just like that they were fine? With a shrug, Hermione walked across the room and settled down under the covers next to him.

"You really shouldn't treat books like that," she said, looking pointedly at the ruffled pages.

Draco snorted and rolled his eyes, but he smoothed the crinkles out of the paper with his hand. It looked almost good as new when he was done. He tried to read for a bit, but his attention was drawn like a magnet to the brunette beside him.

"So you don't regret it?" Draco asked, not looking away from the pages in front of him. It didn't escape Hermione's notice that his eyes weren't moving to take in the words; he wasn't even reading, just waiting for her answer.

"No." She answered firmly, without hesitation.

"You didn't have dreams of having your first time with someone you love?" Finally, his eyes wandered from the paper to her face. There was something under the teasing in his quicksilver irises and voice, but Hermione was blushing and looking away, so she didn't have time to decipher it.

"I did."

"And you don't regret shattering them in a night of mind-blowing debauchery with me?" He was smirking, so she knew he was just trying to make her even more embarrassed. He was sadistic is what he was! Making her uncomfortable was like a twisted game to him.

"They weren't shattered," she mumbled, staring intently at her hands as they wrung a corner of the sheets.

After a moment of staring at her in confusion, all the teasing dropped from Draco's face and his heart sped up. Was she saying what he thought she was saying or was he completely misinterpreting her words?

"You love me?" He asked, surprised. Sure, he was quite fond of her and could very well see himself loving her one day, but he wasn't there yet.

Hermione shook her head. "No, but I'm going to be with you for the rest of my life and I'm very fond of you after less than a year, I think it would be easy to fall in love with you."

He leaned over to kiss her, but she rolled out of his reach. A question was in his eyes when she looked into them, smiling.

"I'm trying not to give you the wrong idea. I don't want you thinking that I'm always just here for you to..." She blushed, unable to finish.

Draco smirked and leaned over to her again; putting a hand on either side of her to take his weight so he didn't squish her. His lips pressed against her neck, making her suck in a breath of surprise at the contact. The chuckle that escaped him at her response brushed against her neck and made her shiver.

Fully over top of her now, Draco was in a prime position to feel her reaction to his proximity. "For me to do what?" He murmured, running his nose along her neck until he found the pulse point and gently sucked. "This?"

She knew full well that he was manipulating her, but it was harmless manipulation, and it felt good so she didn't call him on it, instead deciding to bask in his attentions.

Suddenly, the door burst open loudly, making Hermione jump and squeak, her reading of the ghost stories not entirely forgotten despite everything that had happened to make her forget them. She tried to get Draco off of her to see who it was, but he refused to budge, only growled in irritation at the interruption.

"Let me guess: 'it's not what you think'?" Blaise asked from the doorway.

"No, this time it's exactly what you're thinking. Now sod off," Draco snarled at his friend.

Unperturbed by the violence promised in Draco's tone, Blaise wandered in and sat on the bed.

With another growl, Draco finally rolled back onto his side of the mattress, having realized that Hermione wasn't going to let him continue if Blaise was there and the bastard didn't plan on leaving until he got whatever it was that he wanted.

"You're jumpy today," Blaise told Hermione, ignoring her furious blush.

"I've been reading ghost stories. They're not as bad as Muggle horror movies but they're still-"

"Why are you here?" Draco gritted out between clenched teeth, interrupting the pleasantries. His bedroom after being interrupted while with his wife was not the place for his friend to make nice with that wife.

The other two in the bed ignored him, unworried by the black, threatening aura that was rapidly developing around the blond. Blaise was used to having Draco's wand turned on him and Hermione knew none of the anger was directed towards her.

"Tell me more about these 'Muggle horror movies'," Blaise insisted, completely ignoring Draco.

Suddenly, Hermione remembered that she was in the presence of two Purebloods who had probably never seen a movie before. Well, she was going to have to remedy that. "We should have a movie night this weekend! I can show you guys the wonders of Muggle technology."

Blaise immediately nodded excitedly and they both turned to Draco, who had realized that his threatening aura and anger weren't going to work and had moved on to a petulant frown. His silver eyes narrowed at his so-called friend but softened when they took in the excited and expectant look on his wife's face. She was obviously dying to share some of her world with him after learning all about his.

With a sigh, the blond nodded reluctantly. "Fine, we'll have a 'movie night' this weekend."

Smiling happily, Hermione hugged him. "Oh! If this is happening this weekend, I have to owl my parents to send some movies and I'm going to need to pick up a television after work tomorrow!" She was up and out of the bed to start the preparations before Draco could object.

When she was out of sight, all traces of Draco's petulance were gone and the dark aura was back. "Now look what you've done," he growled.

Blaise shrugged. "She'll be back."

"Why are you here?" Draco demanded once again.

The darker Slytherin shrugged. "I was bored and came to keep you company while you acted all pouty about Hermione leaving..."

"It's the middle of the night." Wearily, Draco rubbed a hand over his face. "Just get out of here Blaise, and learn to _knock_!"

Blaise just grinned as he got up from the bed. "Learn to lock the door," he called over his shoulder as he left the room.

* * *

Hermione returned to Draco's bedroom some time later, after mentally running through the collection of films she owned and sending off a list of the ones she wanted to her parents.

The lights were out but his door wasn't locked so she slipped inside. There was just enough light coming in the windows from the almost full moon for her to see Draco's eyes shining at her as they tracked her movements.

"What're you doing?" Hermione whispered.

"Sleeping," he grumbled petulantly.

"Why do you sound so miserable about it?"

"Because that's _all _I'm doing."

Hermione rolled her eyes, but got into the bed anyway. "It's almost three in the morning and I have to work in the morning. Goodnight Draco."

He muttered irritably about horrible friends and their atrocious timing, but he didn't object when she snuggled up against him, chucking at his mood. In fact, she was pretty sure he let out a small, happy sigh just as she was on the cusp of sleep.

* * *

Draco crossed his arms and watched Hermione use a complicated series of charms along with something she called 'wires' in yet another attempt to make the 'television' work properly. He may not have approved of the Muggle technology, but he'd still spent the afternoon watching her make the stuff work – his decision may have been partially influenced by the view as she bent over to hook up the 'wires'.

When a person appeared on the screen and started talking, his eyes widened and his hand whipped down to his wand. Hermione caught his reaction and laughed merrily.

"Don't worry Draco, I won't let the scary Muggles come out of the telly and get you," she laughed.

He frowned at her but put his wand away. From her tone, he guessed that they couldn't actually come out of there to get him and he didn't want her to laugh at him anymore, so he addressed his second largest concern. "Do we just... spy on these Muggles?"

It took some effort, but Hermione managed not to laugh at him again, she could tell he was asking a serious question and wouldn't take kindly to more mocking. She took a breath in an attempt to stem her giggles before she spoke. "We're not spying, they're acting for the cameras..." She launched into a technical explanation of how films and television worked.

Blaise came into the room halfway through her explanation and listened, fascinated. When he turned to notice the telly, his eyes widened to the size of saucers and he stared, transfixed. "How come those people don't seem to care that we're watching them?"

Rolling her eyes, Hermione started the entire explanation again from the beginning.

"Hermione! We're here for the 'movie' thing!" Ginny called, coming into the room. She was looking around with interest, having never been in the Manor before. Harry followed her in, looking less interested and more apprehensive about their surroundings. His distrust of new places was inherent, and the bad memories of the Manor weren't helping his paranoia.

When she spotted the screen that had the two Slytherins so entranced, Ginny had a reaction similar to Blaise's. "Ooo, we get to spy on people?" She asked, sounding entirely too excited at the prospect of invading people's privacy. Ginny had learned her morals from Fred and George, two of the most morally flexible people Hermione had ever met – and she was married to a Slytherin, so that was really saying something.

Hermione threw he hands in the air with a frustrated groan and left the room.

Everyone except Draco looked after her in confusion. The blond smiled fondly, knowing she would come back in a few minutes. She was just frustrated by the thought of explaining _again; _no matter how much someone liked explaining something, there was a limit.

He tried not to let it bother him that there was currently two Gryffindors settling into one of the sofas facing the television. It made him feel off for Potter to be so relaxed in the Manor. Maybe he should do something to keep him on his toes... Cupcake was probably open to bribery, or possibly the lions.

He glanced over at Blaise, who was wincing while he chewed on something.

"What are you doing?" Draco asked his friend.

The darker Slytherin handed Draco some little, roundish, brown things. "I heard Muggles eat something called 'popcorn' with movies, this is what they gave me when I went to the store to buy some."

Draco's silver eyes examined the handful of things resting on his palm. They didn't _look _appetising, but he supposed Muggles had to have _some _reason for eating them. Hesitantly, the blond placed one of the kernels on his tongue. It didn't really taste like anything...

Just as he was trying to bite through the thing, Hermione returned with a big bowl of white fluffy stuff that smelled delicious.

"What's in the bowls?" Blaise asked.

She sat on a sofa beside Draco and handed around the bowls she'd been holding. "It's popcorn. Try it; I think you'll like it. Plus, it's part of the Muggle movie watching experience."

Both Slytherins frowned.

"Then what have I been eating?" Blaise asked, showing her the bag of kernels.

"That's popcorn too, just not popped," Harry spoke up. Both he and Hermione were trying not to laugh at the complete lack of knowledge the Purebloods had of everything Muggle. It was nice to be the one with the advantage of growing up with everything the other side considered confusing for once.

Hermione stopped any further conversation by putting the movie in the player and settled down beside Draco once again. The screen immediately captured the attention of every Pureblood in the room while Hermione and Harry shot each other amused looks while no one was paying them any mind.

Twenty minutes into the movie, Hermione was clutching Draco's arm in a death-grip and burying her face in his shoulder. Why, oh _why, _did she have to go and decide that a horror film was a good idea? A nice, happy romantic comedy or even an action movie would have showed the Purebloods the wonders of Muggle movies. She just couldn't understand people's need to scare themselves with the television they watched; life was scary enough without even _trying_.

Without taking his eyes off of the movie, Draco tilted his head down so his lips nearly brushed Hermione's ear. "He's obviously just a Muggle in a mask, why're you so afraid of _this _when you've faced Voldemort?"

Reluctantly, Hermione pulled her face from his arm to answer him but squeaked and buried it again when the Muggle in the mask jumped out at the poor, unsuspecting scantily clad female on the screen. Her reaction brought his eyes off of the movie to focus entirely on his obviously insane wife. Shaking his head at her fear of something so obviously harmless, he pulled his arm out of her grasp and wrapped it around her shoulders to pull her against him. He actually found the film to be kind of amusing and didn't really understand her fear. Draco had spent a lot of time living with true evil and he knew these Muggle hadn't quite managed to capture the aura of a monster.

Someone grabbed his other arm to hide their face, confusing the blond. Hermione was now hiding her face against his neck, so who was on his arm?

"Damn it Blaise, it's just a Muggle film!" Draco snapped to his friend. He pulled his arm out of the other Slytherin's grasp and whacked him on the back of the head. Allowing Hermione to cling to him was one thing, but he drew the line at Blaise – no, he drew the line way _before _Blaise.

From the other sofa, Harry and Ginny glanced over at the former Slytherin, wondering what he was making a commotion about. They burst out laughing at the scene before them.

Draco's death glare was enough to make the couple turn back to the movie, but it didn't stop the amused snickers that kept cropping up. He was glad that Hermione hadn't seemed to notice the entire thing while hiding her face.

When the movie finally ended, Hermione had fallen asleep against Draco's chest and Blaise was resting his head on his shoulder – Draco had _tried _to shove him back out of his personal space, but Blaise just kept falling over onto him. Eventually, the blond had just given up and allowed him to stay there. Plans for Blaise's painful and drawn-out death were running through Draco's head the entire time.

Twisting, Draco picked up the sleeping Hermione and stood up, not really caring that Blaise fell over into what looked like an uncomfortable position. He lifted a foot, careful to keep his balance with the added weight in his arms, and kicked Blaise.

The Italian started awake and darted a frantic look around the room, settling down when he saw that it was just Draco. "What was that for?" He demanded.

"If you're going to stay the night, go sleep in one of the spare bedrooms," the blond told his friend. Awkwardly, he glanced over at the amused looking Potter and Weasley. "I suppose you two can take a room as well if you don't want to go home so late. Just be careful wandering around at night, that's when the lions prowl the halls."

The warning was met with chuckles from the Gryffindor couple. Their laughter slowly faded when they saw that Draco wasn't joining in.

"I'm serious; they don't take well to new people," Draco insisted. Hermione was dead weight and starting to get heavy, so he led the way to the corridor in his wing that held his bedroom along with a few guest rooms. No one commented that he brought Hermione into his own bedroom instead of bringing her to a separate one, but the Weasley gave him a knowing look that made him slightly uncomfortable. He had a feeling Hermione was going to have some explaining to do in the morning...


	20. Cupcake's Secret

**Chapter 19: Cupcake's Secret**

**A/N: I was going to make you guys wait for tomorrow for this chapter, but I'm back to being excited about this story (I actually haven't written anything for this story in almost a month, I was tired of it after writing 70 000 words in a relatively short time). But I'm back to working on it and the end is in sight. I'm just starting to write chapter 24 now, and I don't think it's going to be much longer than that.**

**As always, thanks to the wonderful harrypotterluver123 for betaing and for getting me writing again with all kinds of enthusiasm. Of course, you guys get a lot of credit for enthusiasm too, I love reading your reviews. Thanks! **

**That probably didn't make sense because it's nearly one in the morning and I'm quite tired, but this chapter was pre-edited, so everything after this should be relatively coherent. **

**~Frosty**

When Draco awoke the next morning, it was to the sound of loud yelling. He tried rolling over and blocking out the noise by pressing a pillow over his head, but he had no such luck. Beside him, Hermione shifted irritably before waking up. When she caught the position her husband was in, she whipped the pillow off of his head; if she wasn't going to be able to sleep, then he wasn't either.

"100 Galleons says it's Blaise that's making all that noise," she said playfully.

Sleepily, Draco snorted in amusement. "It seems that Mother has cured you of your qualms about dipping into the Malfoy vaults."

She didn't answer him, but when he glanced over, he saw the grin on her face as she rolled over, showing him her back. "Just go deal with your crazy friend," came her answer.

Giving up, Draco got out of bed, grumbling the entire way about ungrateful houseguests waking him up at an ungodly hour. Sure, it was approaching ten A.M., but it was _Saturday_. Didn't they understand that?

A bloodcurdling scream echoed down the corridors of the Manor, making Draco want to clamp his hands over his ears. Apparently they _didn't _understand.

He followed the source of the noise until he was once again in the room with the television. Blaise was sitting there, completely riveted on the screen and looking a little bit like a zombie. The volume was so loud on the television that Draco had mistaken the onscreen character's spoken conversation for yelling.

"Blaise, what're you doing?" The blond demanded irritably.

"I couldn't sleep, I've been watching these movies all night," his friend answered, voice sounding like the zombie he resembled.

The Malfoy heir sighed, knowing Hermione was going to be smug _and _she was going to give him that _look _while she collected the money he owed her. To make his morning even more miserable, Potter and his red-headed girlfriend chose that moment to come into their room, probably having heard the blaring film as well.

"Why's the telly so loud?" Potter asked.

"Because Blaise is both mentally unstable _and _has a death wish," Draco gritted out between clenched teeth. He was _not _a morning person and the entire situation was too much. If something didn't stop this nonsense, he was going to hex the next thing that moved. Actually... it would probably make him feel better about the day if he got to start it off with hexing someone. He hoped it was Blaise who moved next. Forget coffee, there was nothing like hexing a nuisance in the morning to get the blood flowing.

Just then, Cupcake came charging into the room, possibly saving Blaise a trip to St. Mungos. The dragon took a leap at the offending technology, hissing in irritation. At the highpoint of the jump, the tiny creature returned to his former size, making it easy for him to snap up the television in his large jaws. The mangled electronics continued to yell for a moment before cutting off in an ear-splitting screech.

Everyone in the room just stared at the dragon in shock as he immediately shrunk back down to his smaller size and looked around the room smugly at the stunned occupants. Cupcake proudly pranced back out of the room, content to return to his nap. The silence that he left in his wake was ringing in the ears of all the room's occupants.

"The dragon can change himself back to his normal size?" Ginny ventured, sounding worried.

Draco groaned and rubbed a hand over his face tiredly. It was too early for this shite.

When Blaise and the She-Weasel looked askance at him, he answered. "The thing's relatively harmless when it's small, but he's dangerous when he can return to his normal size at will. I have to convince Hermione that we need to get rid of the thing. You _know _how stubborn Hermione can be."

He noticed Potter's amused look directed behind him and sighed heavily; his morning just got a little more exhausting.

Turning, his eyes landed on Hermione, hair still mussed from sleep and her arms crossed over her chest petulantly. She was looking her most stubborn, which didn't bode well for him. "We're not getting rid of Cupcake, he's harmless no matter how big he is."

The blond sighed again. "Hermione, love, he's dangerous." He started, ignoring everyone else in the room in an attempt to soothe his wife before she started hexing and became impossible to reason with.

Her stare didn't waver. "Don't give me that tone Draco. He's completely harmless and I'm not sending him somewhere else when he's perfectly happy here."

"Are you sure he's as happy as he could be? There are reserves for dragons where he could be with his own kind."

"You just want to send him away!" Hermione was aware that she was acting like a child, but she'd had enough change in her life recently and wasn't going to let something upset that happiness she'd managed to find for herself despite that change.

The arguing pair didn't notice, but Potter moved to step between them, only to be stopped by Blaise's restraining hand on his arm. "Let them work it out," the Slytherin whispered. He was looking between the married couple like he was attending some kind of show.

Harry turned disbelieving eyes on the Slytherin, but he knew that Zabini spent more time with the couple than he did. He decided that he'd give them a few minutes to work it out themselves before stepping in. Malfoy had a temper and Harry didn't want to risk Hermione being on the receiving end of that temper.

"I'm not trying to get rid of the damned thing, I'm thinking of your safety!" Draco snapped back at her. He had drawn himself up to his full height and stepped towards her, a subconscious habit meant to intimidate the other party when arguing. Hermione refused to budge, staring up at him petulantly.

"He was your idea in the first place! We can't just dispose of him because he found a way around a spell _you _carelessly cast on him." She argued. Her eyes sparked with her irritation; she loved Cupcake and didn't want to lose him.

"I tried to get rid of the thing the second he landed on you. I don't need to remind you that _you're _the one who stopped me."

"You tried to _kill _him! He didn't deserve to die because he landed on my shoulder."

"No, I tried to kill him because he was so close to killing _you_. He deserved to die for _threatening _my _wife_." The blond snarled.

Once again, Harry tried to interfere, but Blaise stopped him for the second time. The Slytherin knew that Draco's snarls were harmless; he was actually being affectionate – for him, anyway. He could only hope that Hermione understood that about her husband.

Harry didn't know what it was that Zabini was seeing in the fight that was eluding his green eyes, but Ginny seemed to be seeing the same thing. They both had tiny smiles on their faces as they watched the back and forth.

"You can't just get rid of something because it poses a tiny little threat. I nearly tripped on the ottoman in the library the other day, are you going to destroy that?" She glared at him fiercely, but didn't wait for his answer before continuing. "Cupcake is a _living creature _that doesn't deserve to be killed or sent away because you don't think it's safe to be near him!"

"I wouldn't have to look out for you like this if you we're so... so Gryffindor! You do things like go after Voldemort with your friends at _eleven_. You have the self-preservation instincts of a suicidal dodo bird!"

"I was twelve actually," she told him with a little grin. Draco was only confirming her guess that he secretly worried like a new mother. He was angry about it, but he worried.

"That's not the point and you know it," he growled, frustrated that she didn't seem to be taking his argument seriously anymore.

"You're right; the _point_, Draco, is that we're not sending Cupcake away." Hermione told him with finality.

The blond scowled at his mule of a wife. She'd brought them right back around to where they'd started; it would have been more productive to argue with a brick wall. "Hermione, I will _not _allow that creature to stay in the Manor as long as he poses a danger to anyone."

"Oh, and the numerous cursed artefacts hanging around are just for a little added excitement, to break up the monotony of everyday life?"

"Those are different; they're part of this place, the dragon isn't."

"By that logic, I'm not either."

The heads of the spectators were going back and forth like people watching a tennis match.

Draco was getting tired of arguing, he was just not in the mood to fight with her. It really wasn't his morning; he never should have gotten out of bed. "I never would have thought it, but you actually do belong here. The dragon doesn't and I'm not going to drop this. He goes." She was about to object, but he held up a hand to stop her. "We'll find him a nice dragon sanctuary somewhere; he'll have a mate and other dragons to bully."

"They don't _have _dragon sanctuaries like that," Hermione said. The sanctuaries she'd heard of through her work were only allowed to hold one or two dragons and it was virtually unheard of to have a mated pair.

Draco shrugged, unworried. "Then we'll start one, it's not like funds are an issue."

While they'd been arguing, Hermione hadn't noticed that they'd gotten so close. She could see the reason in his argument and knew he wasn't going to give up. She was starting to think it might be cruel of her to keep a wild creature like Cupcake away from his own kind and cooped up within the marble walls of the Manor.

With a sigh, she leaned her head forward and rested it on his solid chest. "Fine," she mumbled. "But don't think you can always just win like this."

His lips quirked into a smirk and he pressed a kiss on top of her bushy hair. "Only when I'm right."

The Gryffindor couple was staring with wide eyes. "Did Hermione just lose an argument?" Harry asked, in awe. It was practically an unprecedented occurrence in the Gryffindor house. He was pretty sure he'd just witnessed history being made.

The brunette pulled her head off of Draco's chest at the sound of her friend's voice and blushed when she noticed the audience. She'd been so caught up in their argument that she hadn't even seen the other people in the room; it was kind of embarrassing to have people witness that. She could only hope they didn't think she was going soft or something equally horrific.

"Sorry you three, I didn't see you there," Hermione apologised.

"Don't worry about it; that was immensely entertaining." Blaise said with a smirk.

Ginny caught sight of the time and paled, making freckles that weren't normally visible appear on her skin. "We have to be getting back, my entire family is probably livid by now."

Harry looked like he'd rather face Voldemort again rather than return Ginny to her no doubt furious parents and brothers. His terror was understandable, Ron may have developed the insanity all on his own, but he came by his temper honestly from his parents, just as all his siblings did.

"Why'd you stay the night anyway?" Hermione asked, wondering why Ginny would risk having Harry's murder on her hands once the fiery family of redheads was done with him.

"My family is being ridiculous. I knew that if I wanted a night with Harry, I'd have to spend it somewhere they'd never think to look." Ginny shrugged and glanced worriedly at the clock again. "We shouldn't push it too much though..."

After a quick goodbye, Ginny and Harry disappeared to 'go face the music' so to speak.

* * *

Hermione sniffled and wiped her watering eyes, looking out at the vast expanse of forest in front of her. She had learned something in the last three days; never underestimate a Malfoy on a mission. It had taken Draco all of two hours to purchase the land for the dragon sanctuary. Three hours after that and he'd managed to rescue several young dragons that had been sold to circuses that weren't equipped to handle the large creatures. As a result of this poor preparation, a lot of the dragons had been mistreated, so it was a good thing they were doing for the misunderstood creatures.

In three days Draco had managed to completely set up a sanctuary for the dragons along with staff and a dragon expert that he'd shipped in from Romania – Charlie had recommended the man.

Cupcake grumbled at her sadly from her shoulder and rubbed his head on the underside of her jaw. Sunlight that she didn't feel danced patterns on the ground as the trees blew in the wind and swayed. It was a beautiful place he was going to live.

The tiny dragon launched himself from her shoulders towards the trees. His small form was buffeted slightly by the breeze, making Hermione take a worried step forward. Mid-jump, he changed back into his former size and took one last glance at Hermione over his shoulder.

The witch broke free on the restraining hand Draco had placed on her elbow and wrapped her arms around the dragon's snout. "Don't get into too much trouble out there with the other dragons," she whispered, looking up into his big, yellow eyes.

Cupcake growled his agreement.

"I promise to visit; I'll even bring you a cupcake. I know how much you love those."

When Hermione finally let him go and stepped back, Draco pulled her away from the dragon and placed himself between her and the oversized lizard. The thing seemed tame enough, but he wouldn't put it past it to eat Hermione at the last minute.

Cupcake glowered at Draco. He liked hugs and the angry one was the reason he hadn't been getting very many in the last three days. Hermione had tried to spend all her time with Cupcake, but Draco had been scolding her for her reckless behaviour. He'd done his best to keep the girl and dragon as far apart as possible while preparations were being made for the dragon sanctuary.

The dragon narrowed his eyes in a reptilian glare. Yes, the angry one was most definitely evil. He'd show him... With an expression as close to an evil grin as dragons could manage without lips, Cupcake spit a small ball of fire at the edge of Draco's robes, which promptly caught fire.

Immediately, Draco started hopping around and swearing profusely. He uselessly tried to smother the flames with handfuls of leaves. The only reason the entire forest didn't go up in smoke because of his actions was the moisture held in the leaves from a recent rain that Draco had used to try and put out the fire.

By the time he'd managed to put the fire out, the dragon was gone.

"I never liked the thing," Draco muttered.

Hermione whacked him. "He was sweet."

"He was a _dragon_. The only time he was ever sweet was when he got into the cupcakes."

His statement brought forth a watery chuckle from Hermione, who was remembering the frosting incident fondly. The smile disappeared with Draco's next words.

"Now we just have to be rid of the lions."

He flinched when she whacked him again. "Don't even _think _about getting rid of my lions," she warned. Cupcake was enough, she didn't want to lose any more of her beloved pets.

* * *

Hermione should have known there would be consequences for showing someone as impressionable as Blaise Muggle television. She realized that it may have been a mistake when she woke up to find him looming over her, looking entirely too awake for whatever ungodly hour it was. Draco's near constant irritation with the other Slytherin was making more and more sense the longer she knew him.

A scream of shock was almost out of her mouth when the frantic Slytherin clamped a hand over it, not wanting to wake the sleeping blond beside her who had his arm casually thrown over her hip.

Hermione grinned against the palm pressed to her lips; Draco was a bit of a dragon when he was woken up and Blaise had obviously learned not to wake the sleeping dragon.

He saw that she'd calmed down and cautiously removed his hand, waiting to see if she was going to try and scream again. When it was obvious that she was willing to hear him out, Blaise relaxed.

"I need to borrow some of that black stuff you sometimes put around your eyes," he whispered quietly, bringing her back from her contemplation of sleeping dragons.

The brunette looked up at him in confusion. "Eyeliner?"

He nodded.

Curiosity was eating her up inside almost immediately, but she wasn't sure if she even wanted to know_why_he needed the stuff. For one thing, lack of knowledge would free her from having to stop any nefarious activities. For another: with Blaise, sometimes it was best to just let it be.

As a child, Hermione had always been careful to recite the second half of the saying when people told her 'curiosity killed the cat'. 'Satisfaction brought it back' had always been like an excuse for her overdeveloped sense of curiosity. It had never failed her before.

Against her better judgement, she gave in and asked. "Why do you want my eyeliner?"

"I have some evil planning to do and it always goes better when I look the part of villain. This time, I've chose a Muggle villain, so I need the black stuff they always wear in the films."

She stared in disbelief. "Blaise, exactly how many movies did you watch the other night?"

"A lot of them. I bought my own box-thing and paid someone to install it in Zabini Manor," he said proudly.

It was then that their whispering finally woke Draco. Hermione knew the moment he awoke because his hand flexed against her hip, it was the only sign he gave that he was conscious. She cringed a little internally, knowing he wasn't going to be happy to find Blaise once again in his bedroom uninvited.

"Blaise, you have three seconds to get out of my bedroom before I go for my wand," the blond growled.

Hermione rolled her eyes at his theatrics and used her wand to summon an eyeliner pencil for Blaise. She didn't want to be the one to spoil his fun if he wanted to play villain – provided his evil plots had nothing to do with her.

Blaise happily took the makeup from her and left the room, working on his evil cackle. He didn't want to waste another second of his evil planning time.

"You shouldn't encourage him," Draco grumbled.

"Let him have his fun. I'm sure it'll be something harmless."

"Then you don't know Blaise all that well. He only _seems _harmless to the uninformed observer. It's partially a facade to hide his cunning mind and partially because he's a moron, but he can be dangerous when he puts his mind to it – it is a Slytherin mind, after all."

A tiny stab of dread made itself known in the pit of her stomach; Draco wasn't one to exaggerate warnings like that, if he said Blaise could be dangerous, then she believed him.

"Well... Let's just hope we're prepared if he's planned something for us."

"Oh, he won't. Blaise knows not to mess with me and he's got a soft spot for you, so you should be safe from whatever it is. It's everyone else you have to worry about."

Hermione thought on his words, a little touched to find that Blaise had a soft spot for her. "You said we have to worry about _everyone else..._Do you actually worry about anyone else?"

He smirked. "I said _you _will have to worry about everyone else. I could care less provided it doesn't interfere with any plans I have."

With a sigh, Hermione got out of bed. She was going to have to make sure no one got hurt from Blaise's plotting since Draco obviously only cared about going back to sleep at the moment.


	21. It's Plotting Eyeliner

**Chapter 20: It's Plotting Eyeliner**

**A/N: I picked Germany randomly by closing my eyes and pointing on a map, I'm not trying to insult anyone (this will make sense later). For those of you wondering what Blaise was doing at the hospital a few chapters back, you get your answer!**

**The idea for the plotting eyeliner came to me when I accidentally put too much on and didn't have enough time to remove some of it... I went to class feeling like a super villain.**

**As always, thanks to the wonderful harrypotterluver123 for betaing and thanks to all my lovely reviewers!**

**~Frosty**

Hermione had never been to Zabini Manor, but Draco told her it was perfectly safe to go by herself, so she wasn't concerned about getting hurt or anything like that. With the way he worried, he probably would have tried to stop her if there was even the small danger of a paper cut or something equally harmless. However, she wasn't silly enough to show up uninvited in a Slytherin's home and not expect some sort of system in place to warn the inhabitants of the home that there were intruders. That would just be asking for trouble.

A bell went off when she came out of the Floo system into what she assumed was Blaise's bedroom. The quiet tinkling of the Floo alarm was drowned out by what sounded like a very loud action movie somewhere in the house. She didn't understand why Blaise needed the volume so high when there wasn't any noise to compete with the sound on the television.

Immediately, Hermione set off to follow the noise. She knew that if she found the source of the sound, she'd most likely find Blaise; it was unlikely that more than one person in the house wanted the volume so high, unless his deaf grandmother was visiting.

What she found was disturbing, but not near as worrying as she'd originally thought it may be. Seated in front of the television cross-legged on the floor were Luna Lovegood and Blaise, both of them with very dark eyeliner ringing their eyes and papers spread out across the floor around them. The presence of Luna in the room was reassuring; the Ravenclaw was a little dreamy, but she wouldn't let Blaise hurt anyone.

"What's going on here?" Hermione asked, still mildly concerned about what they were getting up to.

Blaise looked at her with a guilty expression, while Luna only smiled happily at her Gryffindor friend. Rarely did the dreamy blonde ever let anything faze her, and being caught doing strange things in a Slytherin's home obviously wasn't an exception to the rule.

"Hermione, what a delightful surprise. The Nargles told me you'd be visiting, but I doubted them. It won't happen again." Luna said dreamily.

The brunette winced a little, unsure if she should be happy that she'd inadvertently reaffirmed Luna's faith in the Nargles. Eventually, Hermione dismissed the thought, having decided that it wasn't as important as the matter at hand.

"Once again, what's going on in here?"

Blaise and Luna exchanged a look that spoke volumes – volumes that Hermione couldn't read because they didn't make sense to a normal person. They turned towards her, silent. It seemed that they were going to try and remain silent to avoid incriminating themselves.

Not about to let them get away with such a childish tactic, Hermione turned an intimidating scowl on them. She didn't have the stature to attempt using Draco's look, so she borrowed a frosty expression she'd seen Narcissa use to freeze the hired help. The poor gardener the blonde woman had directed that glare at had frozen in place, all the blood had drained from his face and he hadn't shown up for work the next morning. Hermione liked to believe it was because the man had been terrified and not that some kind of unfortunate 'accident' had befallen him because of the peach coloured roses incident.

Luna remained unaffected, but Blaise shivered. "Don't _do _that Hermione! You look too much like Narcissa, it's creepy." His eyes widened, "The Malfoy attitude really is contagious. They've corrupted you!"

"Tell me what you needed the eyeliner to plot."

Luna broke out into a dreamy grin. "Oh, Hermione, we've had the most wonderful idea!" The Ravenclaw ignored the frantic shushing motions that Blaise was making. "Blaise was visiting me at the hospital – I had an accident trying to chase the Nargles out the window, I was so sure I could fly, but it just didn't work." She shook her wispy blonde head of hair. "Blaisey was kind enough to come visit me while I was there."

Hermione was listening to Luna, but her eyes were on Blaise. 'Blaisey?' She mouthed at the Slytherin, who actually blushed lightly and looked at the floor. She never would have expected Blaise to be embarrassed about something, it was amusing to see. And comforting to know his weakness; now she had something to exploit. Hermione's eyes widened and she shuddered slightly. She really was spending too much time with Slytherins. Maybe there was something to Blaise's theory about the Malfoy attitude being contagious after all.

Luna continued her explanation. "While I was there and Blaise was visiting me, we went to see the ward for injured war orphans and... well, Blaise has decided to adopt one."

Well, _that _wasn't what she'd been expecting. Emotionally, Blaise was a child himself, he wasn't near ready to raise another human being. Although there was a chance that the experience would mature the overgrown child, Hermione wasn't sure giving him responsibility over another life would be worth the slim chance.

Luna shuffled though some papers until she found the eyeliner pencil and offered it to Hermione, her black rimmed eyes imploring. "Will you help us?"

The Gryffindor stood there looking between the pair. Luna still had a year left of Hogwarts and as far as Hermione knew, Blaise's mother was off living with husband number eleven somewhere in the Bahamas at the moment, which meant that the Slytherin was going to be alone with a _child _if this plan worked out. She wasn't sure if she was prepared to have the untimely demise of an innocent child on her conscience in the likely event that Blaise screwed something up.

"Hermione, there was one little boy who was so sad... And he needs an operation that the hospital can't afford. He asked me if he could come home with me... I couldn't say no." Blaise told her, pleading with his eyes.

Well, how was she supposed to say no to that? If the little boy needed the operation and wasn't going to get it unless Blaise helped, then it seemed that joining in with their insanity was going to be the only responsible option... even if it was completely irresponsible.

She sighed and accepted the makeup Luna was still offering. Blaise produced a mirror so she could apply the eyeliner. Too much time in the presence of Slytherins was slowly eating away at her sanity.

"What part of this is evil?" She asked, looking over the papers. It seemed that Blaise was just filling out adoption papers and planning on making a few donations to the right people to smooth the process along. Nothing evil, barely anything that was even morally questionable. It was all perfectly legal.

"Blaise, I won't be much help on this..." She reluctantly admitted after going over their work. They'd already done everything she would have recommended, there wasn't really anything for her to help with.

"There is! You're one of the Golden Trio! You helped defeat Voldemort, which makes you one of the best character witnesses out there."

There was logic in that, but what he really needed was Draco; if her husband was as good at adopting a child as he was at arranging a dragon sanctuary, then the kid would be happily living in Zabini Manor in twelve hours. How long the poor boy lasted after that would be up to Blaise. Hermione made a mental note to have a word with the Zabini elves to make sure they'd keep an eye on the boy... both of them.

"Blaise, are you sure you're ready to raise a child?" Hermione asked hesitantly.

He nodded resolutely. Looking into his eyes, she could see how determined he was to go through with his plan; he really wanted to help that little kid.

"You should ask Draco for help, he's good at getting what he wants with intimidation and throwing money around." She said helpfully, unable to believe that she was actually suggesting it. In the back of her mind, she knew intimidation and bribery were wrong, but it was to help a child, so she was conflicted. Being an adult was _hard_; everything was so... morally ambiguous.

"Draco won't help. He once told me that if I were to ever have children, he didn't want to be anywhere near them... Said something about apples and trees and more than one of me and he'd have to kill one of us."

Hermione chuckled. She could picture a younger Draco saying something along the lines of 'if you ever have children, keep the brats away from me. The apple never falls far from the tree and two of you would be enough to push me over the edge. One of you would die.' It was kind of violent, but that seemed to be how Slytherins bonded. She could only assume it was the result of too much time spent in dank and gloomy places like dungeons, the atmosphere oozed into their minds and warped them.

Their afternoon was spent poring over papers. The unlikely trio did all they could with the papers, but there was only so much that could be done, after a certain point, all that was left was the waiting.

By the time she left that afternoon, she was relatively confident that Blaise was going to be able to accomplish his mission. Her feelings on Blaise with a child were still unsure, but, like Draco, he had nothing to do other than watch his piles of gold grow bigger, so he'd have lots of time to devote to the child. She had a feeling he was going to be playmate more than parental figure most of the time.

She started hunting for Draco the moment she stepped out of the Floo back into Malfoy Manor. He needed to know what his friend was up to and she needed to know if the blond was going to help them make it happen.

It didn't take her long to find him, he was sitting in her favourite chair in the library, completely engrossed in the book he was reading. With a big smile, she crept up behind him, revelling in the opportunity to sneak up on him; those opportunities didn't present themselves very often.

Hermione silently padded across the floor until she was directly behind him, wrapped her arms around his shoulders and leant her chin on top of his head, peering at the book that was resting in his lap.

"What're you reading?" She asked, amused that he had jumped a little when she first touched him. As he realized that it was her, he'd relaxed again.

He shut the book and tossed it carelessly onto the table beside him. "Nothing important."

Tugging on her hand, he pulled her around to the front of the chair and into his lap, her back against his chest. Hermione wiggled a little to get comfortable as his arms wrapped around her. It was nice to sit like this with him. He was getting used to the physical affection thing, he didn't tense near as much anymore.

"What was Blaise up to?"

The brunette hesitated, trying to figure out how to ask for Draco's help before he said no or started laughing at his friend's idea. He wasn't likely to listen if he was laughing too hard. It was going to be difficult to present the information in such a way that Draco didn't immediately dismiss it as ridiculous. Eventually, she realized that the best way would be to just ask him to hear her out before he reacted.

"Draco, if I tell you, you have to promise me to listen to what I have to say before you make judgements."

He tilted his head to the side slightly in his confusion, but he nodded when he saw that she was being sincere. Hermione was genuinely invested in whatever it was Blaise was doing, so he supposed it couldn't be something overly horrible... though asking for a promise before she divulged the information didn't bode well for his reaction to whatever the news was.

Twisting around to stare deep into the quicksilver depths of his eyes, Hermione read his willingness to do what she asked. It was comforting that he would so freely give her his full attention without passing judgement until she'd finished her piece. During their school days, she never would have thought him capable of such things – and that was less than a year ago.

"Blaise wants to adopt a war orphan from St. Mungos."

Draco was completely silent, his face expressionless. She might as well have been waiting for a reaction out of a statue. Even his eyes were almost blank; it was actually quite impressive that he could keep such a tight rein on his emotions. Hermione could only assume it came from mastering Occulmency.

His complete composure cracked enough for him to quirk an eyebrow slightly at her questioning eyes. "Is that everything I had to 'hear out'?"

Hermione nodded. "Yes, but-"

She was interrupted by his laughter. It wasn't just a bark of laughter, it was shaking, gasping, all-out laughter; something that didn't happen to Draco all that frequently. Because her body was so close to his, the both of them shook with his mirth. It was nice to hear him laugh like that, but Hermione didn't think Draco should find so much amusement in the dreams of his friend.

"I think it's a sweet thing for him to do," she huffed, pulling away from his enough to cross her arms.

Draco didn't seem to like the distance she'd placed between them; his laughter eased and he tightened the grip he had on her waist, pulling her back flush against his chest. Yes, that was much better like that. His grin didn't fade from his face as he took in her offended expression; she was like an adorable miffed child. Not that he'd ever tell her that, he valued his bollocks.

"Don't tell me you're helping him in his insane scheme. He's just going to get bored of a kid after a few weeks and forget to feed it like he did with the pet Hermit Crab he had when we were kids." His eyes took on a faraway look as they stared off in the distance, remembering. "Poor thing didn't get fed for a month before it escaped. We found it two years later, hiding under his bed and living off Blaise's bagel collection." He frowned. "Don't even ask about the bagel collection. Suffice to say that –unsurprisingly- Blaise was a strange child."

Hermione could feel the vibrations from his words resonating throughout her body. She had to force herself to stay on-topic instead of leaning further against him and letting him distract her in whatever way he pleased – she was pretty sure they were wearing too many articles of clothing for his preferred distractions.

Gathering her scattered thoughts, she managed to form a coherent sentence. "Yes, I am helping him, hence the eyeliner. It's plotting eyeliner." She pointed to the dark lines circling her eyes.

Despite the strangeness of her words, Draco understood that once Hermione put her heart into a cause, she was completely devoted to that cause. He sighed, stirring the fine hairs at the base of her neck. The shiver that went through her was felt more than seen, and made him smile smugly; Draco loved getting a reaction out of people, and pleasurable ones from Hermione were some of his favourite of all.

"Fine. I suppose you want my help?"

She nodded and twisted enough to give him a quick kiss before moving to pull away.

Draco wasn't having any of that. He shifted his hands from her waist to either side of her face, preventing her from leaving. If he was going to help Blaise in his insanity, then he deserved more of a kiss than a quick peck.

She felt him smirk against her mouth before using his lips to open her own and deepen the kiss. The odd angle was uncomfortable, but she didn't complain; it wasn't yet unbearable.

When he finally allowed her to pull away enough to end their kiss, Hermione was fully out of breath and flushed.

Draco smirked even wider as he took in her flustered appearance, fully aware that he was the one who finally got under her skin. If he'd known all he had to do was switch tactics, then he would have tried it sooner.

He still wasn't willing to let her leave his lap, so he rewound his arms around her waist and made sure she couldn't escape. It was obvious that she'd developed a cramp in her back, so he was content to just let her relax against him until it eased.

"Father asked me to remind you that he's having business guests over from Germany tonight so we're going to be having a formal dinner." He told the brunette, his forehead resting on her shoulder blade.

Hermione couldn't turn to face him because of the way he was holding her, which was probably a good thing, considering the expression of distaste that was on her face. Lucius may have slightly altered his views on her and her kind, but she wasn't naive enough to believe that the people he associated with had experienced the same change of heart. She wasn't looking forward to sitting down for dinner with people who thought her inherently inferior.

Seeming to sense her distress, Draco pulled her closer and pressed a kiss to the side of her neck. "Don't worry, I won't let anyone say anything less than flattering about you."

She sighed. Threatening glares from Draco weren't going to make the situation any more comfortable. The best thing she could do was dress up, sit there and smile. As long as she could go for one meal without hexing the guests, everything should be fine.

Hermione glanced into the mirror one last time. Her dress wasn't wrinkled and her hair was as close to styled as she could get it on such short notice. There was nothing obvious with her ensemble that the visitors could find fault in or use as a point for criticism. She supposed that was as good as she could hope considering the time constraints within which she'd been working.

"There's absolutely nothing wrong with you. Don't let anyone ever tell you otherwise," Draco said from the doorway. He'd been watching her as she worried over her appearance in the mirror and promised himself that if anyone dared say one word against her, then he was going to hex them on the spot. Screw the consequences; an international incident was worth it if Hermione would stop making that _face. _It was a combination of insecurity and anxiety that made him furious with himself that he was part of the reason it was there. He had no doubt in his mind that his years of taunting had something to do with her insecurity.

She turned and smiled radiantly at him. "Whoever said Slytherins are evil was sorely mistaken. You're all sweet under your cold, snaky exteriors."

Draco shook his head fondly, but chose not to comment. Instead he held out an arm to lead her to what felt like their doom.

Rolling her eyes at the arm he offered, Hermione accepted it and let him lead her out of her room and down the hall.

"Tell that to Snape; if he has a sweet center buried deep inside him somewhere, it hasn't shown itself since he was young enough to need diapers," Draco told her to distract the woman from the nervousness that was making her jittery. He pulled open the doors to the dining room and ushered her to her seat before she had time to work herself into a state over the additional diners.

Their guests were already seated and stared as Draco politely pulled out a chair for Hermione. They watched in complete silence as he pushed her in and made his way to his own seat.

One of the men had a long scar through his left eyebrow and down his face. Combined with his sharp widow's peak and dark hair, it gave him an ominous look. His companion was almost the opposite; he had round and his cheeks were flushed dark red. This man had no hair at all. Both guests didn't look pleased that Hermione had joined them.

Once seated, Draco darted his eyes around the table. "Evening Gentlemen, Mother, Father," he greeted, breaking the silence that had taken over at their entrance.

The rest of dinner passed in a blur of stilted conversations and forced politeness. It was obvious that both of the men looked down on Hermione because of her blood status, but they didn't dare verbally express that disapproval. Particularly after the venomous glare Draco had shot their way upon taking his seat, it had promised death and dismemberment to anyone who dared speak out against Hermione.

Draco didn't have anything specific to hate them for, but he could tell their attitude was making Hermione uncomfortable and that was enough for him to dislike the two men. For every time one of them spoke up just in time to interrupt something Hermione was about to say, the anger building inside Draco intensified just a little bit more.

By the time he was finally free to leave without seeming overly impolite, he grabbed his wife's hand and pulled her out of the dining room. He walked quickly, not saying a word, until they were back inside the privacy of their wing, somewhere guests of his father's had no reason to set foot.

Hermione didn't speak as he dropped her hand to ball his fingers into tight fists and paced the hall. Draco had hidden it well, but he was obviously furious. She watched him pace until he suddenly stopped and punched a wall, putting all the power in his lithe form behind the blow.

He ignored the hole in the panelling and leant his back against the wall, sliding down it until he was sitting on the floor. His uninjured hand came up to his forehead and he made a sound halfway between a growl and a weary sigh.

Was it a boy thing to punch walls when they were upset? That's what they got for refusing to show their emotions: an explosion. She'd known that Draco didn't handle emotional stress well, but he really needed some better coping mechanisms.

She sighed and slid down the wall beside him. Unsure how he would respond if she were to try and speak to him, Hermione chose to gently lift his injured hand from his lap. The knuckles were split and bleeding sluggishly in violent red trails pooling between his fingers. She was relatively certain that one of the delicate bones in his hand was broken.

A wave of her wand cleared away the blood and another one healed the cuts. The broken bone took a slightly more complicated spell, but she was satisfied with her work when the spell was finished. She set his hand down in her lap and gently stroked her fingers over the pink spots where his knuckles had split and healed into shiny, new skin. How injuring himself was supposed to make anything better, she didn't know.

"Did that make you feel better?" Hermione asked, referring to the damage he'd caused.

He sighed and leant his head back to rest against the wall. "No. Being here with you like this is helping a little though."

She edged closer to him and rested her head in his shoulder. They stayed like that, allowing him time to cool off and gather his frayed nerves.

The sound of hurried footsteps made the both of them look down the corridor curiously, wondering who would be in their wing so late.

Blaise ran right past the pair on the floor, probably headed towards Draco's room in hopes of finding the blond. He should know better than to run in the halls with the lions loose, they might think he wanted to play and start stalking him. Or worse, they might pounce.

"Blaise, what the hell are you doing here so late?" Draco demanded, somehow managing to sound menacing while sprawled on the floor with Hermione resting against him.

The dark Slytherin stopped so suddenly he nearly fell down. He whipped around and crouched in front of his friend. "Draco, I need your help, I've caught a demon," he said, his eyes wide and terrified and his voice nearly shaking.


	22. Blaise's Mistake

**Chapter 21: Blaise's Mistake**

**A/N: I'm almost finished writing this story. I'm 561 words into the epilogue **_**right now**_**! It's going to be 24 chapters and an epilogue, so there's not much left.**

**As always, thanks to harrypotterluver123 for betaing and thanks to all you wonderful readers who take the time to review!**

**Okay, I know you're curious about Blaise's demon, so here's your answer!**

**~Frosty**

Instead of jumping into action after Blaise's proclamation, both Hermione and Draco just stared at him in disbelief. Sure, all kinds of strange magical creatures existed in the world, but that didn't mean demons were real. Hermione would know; she worked in the Magical Creatures department in the Ministry; if there was any knowledge of the existence of real demons, she would have seen the file on them.

"Blaise..." Hermione started doubtfully.

He held up a hand to stop her objection. "No, come see it before you tell me how crazy I sound."

Hermione and Draco shared a doubt-filled look; at least he knew that he was coming off as a bit of a psycho. Nevertheless, they stood up and followed him as he led them back downstairs.

He brought them to one of the rarely used sitting rooms down near the formal dining room. They were surprised to see that Blaise really did have something tied to a chair with a substance that looked suspiciously like poorly done macramé.

They were impressed with the Italian's ability to catch something as elusive and most likely powerful as a demon. That is until, upon closer inspection, it became obvious that the 'demon' was actually one of Lucius' German guests. The man did not look pleased. He started yelling the moment he was that there were people in the room.

Blaise jumped away from the prisoner so fast he stumbled and fell to the floor, landing hard on his butt. "He's speaking in tongues!" he exclaimed in horror. "I'll get the holy water!"

Draco whacked him on the back of the head. "He's speaking German you daft pillock."

"Blaise, you really need to understand that those Muggle movies you've seen aren't real. I'm not even going to _ask _why you actually have holy water on hand," Hermione added.

She could only assume he'd picked up the macramé habit from an old relative or something; it wasn't exactly a common hobby for people their age. This was another thing she wasn't going to ask about. It was better to leave some questions unanswered, because once she knew something, she would have great difficulty un-learning it.

"With the money and the motivation, you'd be amazed what you can get delivered to your house in the middle of the night," Draco explained. Hermione _had _said she wasn't going to ask, but the statement had been overlaid with a question that he knew she wanted answered.

Blaise looked between the two of them and then turned suspicious eyes on the German man. "You never know when you're going to need holy water. It works on demons, vampires and babies," he told the man threateningly.

Hermione was a little worried. "Blaise... Holy water isn't used to vanquish babies, it's used to baptise them." She was really going to have to start supervising his exposure to anything Muggle before he managed to kill someone in his misguided efforts to protect everyone. Or he convinced some poor girl that holy water was meant to vanquish babies and so would work as a form of birth control.

While Hermione tried to talk some sense into his friend, Draco was looking at the man tied to the chair contemplatively. Had Hermione looked over to see her husband's expression, she would have been worried, but Blaise had her entire attention.

The two stopped their conversation on the uses of holy water when Draco stepped forward and pressed his wand to the man's throat. "You seemed to be having some problems during dinner accepting that my wife has Muggle parents. I think you should rethink your opinions. Now." His voice was low and dangerous, bringing shivers up Hermione's spine.

"Draco..." She started, hoping to stop him from doing something that would land him in Azkaban. The guy had a problem with sticking his dangerous wand against the sensitive throats of people who had irked him. One day he was going to get himself stabbed in the throat right back.

"No. He's going to admit that there's nothing about you to make you inferior," the angry blond insisted.

"Fine!" Everyone turned to see the only man in the room who had yet to speak. He was trembling and his eyes were wide. "I admit that there's nothing about her to make her inferior," he stuttered out in heavily accented English.

Satisfied, Draco used his wand to slash away the macramé binding the man, cutting dangerously close to his skin with the carelessly aimed severing charm.

When he was freed from his bonds, the man jumped from his chair, keeping a wary eye on both Slytherins as he scurried from the room like the cockroach he was.

"I have a feeling that Father's business deal might not go so well after this," Draco said, sounding anything but regretful. He turned to his friend. "What are you doing here, besides trying to exorcise guests?"

Blaise had the decency to look a little embarrassed. "I just wanted to come see if Hermione had talked you into helping me with my little plan..." At the venomous look Draco was directing towards him, he started to back away. "I can see that now's probably a bad time, I'll come back later." He turned towards the door and started to flee down the hall.

"He agreed!" Hermione called after him, only receiving a curt nod as an acknowledgement that she'd been heard. Blaise seemed pretty intent on escaping, so she didn't take it personally.

* * *

The next day, Hermione was coming back from her lunch break when she saw Claude frantically gesturing at her from behind his desk. The man looked terrified and she couldn't figure out what it was that would upset him so.

She figured it out pretty quickly when she noticed Draco leaning against the wall beside her office door.

He pushed off the wall and stalked in her direction once he saw that she'd marked his presence. Hermione didn't know why he was visiting her at work, but he'd never done it before, so she immediately assumed that something was wrong.

"What are you doing?" she demanded as he advanced on her.

"I'm here to undermine your authority," he said with a smirk. When it looked like Hermione was going to object, he quickly took another step forward and covered her mouth with his hand. "Don't worry, I won't do it in front of the employees. Let's retire to your office."

She was unable to fight back as he turned her around and propelled her through the open office door with his hands on her hips. The door made a soft click as he bumped it closed behind him with a foot. Poor Claude was probably debating whether he needed to intervene and save his boss from her husband – again. It probably said something about their marriage that her secretary spent so much time unsure if he was going to have to try and intervene for her safety.

"Really. What're you doing here?" she asked once he had released her.

"I'm here to ask you some questions, and if you're lucky, I might even throw in some sexual harassment."

"I thought a Malfoy would never do something so risky, it's practically _inviting _scandal." Hermione huffed, crossing her arms protectively over her chest and putting some distance between them. She wasn't looking forward to what she knew Claude would say when Malfoy left and it wouldn't help if she'd actually _done _the things he was going to assume they'd done while closed into her office.

"If I was ever going to sexually harass anyone, it would _definitely _be you."

She rolled her eyes at his antics and sat in her chair behind her desk, motioning him to take one of the two chairs arranged in front of the desk for visitors. Draco ignored the invitation to take a chair and instead moved around her desk. Her chair was on wheels, so it was simple for him to roll it back ad sit on the desk in front of her.

"Draco," she sighed. "What is it you needed that couldn't _possibly _wait until I came home?"

He grinned at her; an expression she'd learned usually preceded nothing good. "This," he said, leaning forward and capturing her lips.

Hermione wanted nothing more than to lean into his touch, but she forced herself to remember that she was at work and she was head of the department. Doing inappropriate things in her office with Draco wasn't the way to go about earning their respect, particularly when she was so much younger than almost everyone who worked for her. A demonstration of teenage hormones wasn't going to work in favour of earning herself the respect and faith of her employees.

She put her hands against his chest and pushed firmly until he leant back and looked at her with a slightly offended expression. Draco wasn't used to girls pulling back from his advances.

"Draco, I'm at work. Now what is it you wanted?"

He frowned at her, slightly offended. "I can't just grace my lovely wife with my presence while she's at work?"

Hermione raised a skeptical eyebrow.

"Fine, I'm here because you got an owl and I was bored." He fished around in his pocket until he found a slightly crinkled envelope.

She quickly broke the seal and read over the contents of the letter. When she was finished, she turned a smile on Draco that made him shift uncomfortably; nothing good could follow a look like that.

"My parents want to have us both over for dinner."

Draco paled. Hermione's parents were Muggles. He had no problem with this, but Muggles lived in Muggle neighbourhoods, and no Malfoy had ever ventured into a Muggle neighbourhood for anything other than murder and mayhem. Maybe he was being punished for his past prejudices, or maybe he was just being forced to deal with his in-laws like everyone else who was ever married. He preferred to think it was the former, because he was a Malfoy, and they didn't do _anything_ like everyone else.

"When?" He asked, not really wanting an answer; the sooner she told him, the sooner he was going to have to prepare for a foray into the Muggle world. He was no coward, but a meeting with one's in-laws was not the best time to be introduced to an unfamiliar world.

"Tonight." Hermione was grinning at his obvious discomfort. She'd had to completely submerge herself in his world; it was time he got a taste of hers.

He paled even more.

* * *

When Draco left Hermione's office, she knew that he wasn't looking forward to dinner with her parents. If she were being honest with herself, she'd know that she wasn't really looking forward to it either. Not because she didn't want to see her parents again, but because her last meeting with them in the hospital had been a little awkward, particularly the knowing looks her mother had been shooting towards them.

She Flooed back to the Manor and changed out of her work clothes and into a comfortable sundress. Quickly, she made sure her hair was reasonable and found a pair of shoes that were a passable match for her dress. It wouldn't do for her to show up looking overworked and rushed; her parents would think she was unhappy at the Manor when that was far from the truth.

They were supposed to leave in a few minutes, but Draco was nowhere to be found. Was he really going to hide from her so he didn't have to visit her parents? It wasn't a very mature reaction – but Draco _did _have a tendency towards immaturity when it came to things he didn't want to do.

With a sigh, she checked her appearance one more time before setting off to find her wayward husband. The wards told her the he was in the Manor _somewhere_; all she had to do was find him.

The first place she checked was his bedroom. The door was closed, so she pulled it open and poked her head around the edge, not expecting to find him; if you're going to hide from someone, picking the most obvious place isn't the best way to remain undiscovered.

Surprisingly, Draco actually _was _in his room. He was standing shirtless in front of the wide open doors to his closet with clothes strewn across the floor in haphazard piles. The harsh treatment was undoubtedly wrinkling the fabric of his expensive clothes. On his face was a helpless expression.

He turned to her when she entered the room. "What am I supposed to wear to a Muggle dinner? Is it an informal thing or should I wear a set of dress robes? What even constitutes formal attire for Muggles? I know they don't have robes."

Any irritation she'd felt immediately dissolved at the sight of the frazzled blond. His confusion was adorable and such a nice change from his usual self-assured arrogance. Draco was actually worried about making a good impression when he went to meet her Muggle parents for dinner. He'd already met them a few times, but this was going to be the first time in a formal setting other than their wedding and he'd been preoccupied then. She smiled fondly and walked into the room.

Surveying the shirts scattered across the floor, she randomly chose one that wasn't too dressy and bent down to rescue in from too many wrinkles. Draco looked at the garment skeptically, but accepted it when she threw it to him.

He quickly buttoned up the shirt and followed Hermione to the Floo, not pleased that he was going. As he followed, he kept quiet, knowing that it was better he not voice his complaints if he ever wanted to go near her again without being hexed.

Mr. and Mrs. Granger were waiting by their fireplace for the young Malfoys to appear. They knew what was going to happen and had seen people use the Floo network before, but they were still startled when the flames blazed emerald green and the couple climbed out of them.

"Hermione!" Her mother exclaimed before embracing the younger brunette. Mr. Granger shook Draco's hand while the two women finished their greetings. Then it was Draco being drawn into a hug by Mrs. Granger while Hermione hugged her father.

After spending so much time with Hermione, Draco was getting slightly better at the 'hugging' thing, but that didn't mean he was comfortable hugging her mother. These people just threw around affection and it was strange to him. It was actually a decidedly _uncomfortable _situation.

Hermione released her father and noticed that her mother still had a hold of Draco.

"Umm, Mum? You're making Draco uncomfortable, his family aren't the hugging type," she said, trying to keep the amusement out of her voice. Draco wouldn't be pleased if they'd only been there for a few minutes before she started laughing at him.

When he was released, the Slytherin took a few steps back from the woman, as if afraid that she was going to grab him again. He moved so that Hermione was slightly in front of him acting as a human shield between him and her hug-happy parents.

It wasn't a brave thing to do, particularly for someone who was no stranger to being forced to defend his life with a wand. He was remarkably cowardly when it came to something as unthreatening as a hug.

Mrs. Granger's smile faded a little when she noticed that the boy was avoiding her and hiding behind Hermione. She would have thought someone as stiff and formal as he seemed to be would have better manners than that. Hermione seemed to think the same thing, as she whacked the boy on the stomach and gave him a reproachful glare.

Draco made a quiet 'oof' noise at the hit, but didn't dare complain when everyone in the room seemed to be just _waiting _for him to mess up and say something wrong. He supposed he deserved it, and that Hermione had endured much worse when she first arrived at the Manor. At least he could be comforted with the fact that the Grangers didn't hate him because he was Pureblood – if they came to hate him, it would be entirely his own fault.

"Well, Hermione. Why don't you show Draco around the house while I prepare dinner?" her mother asked, breaking up the awkward tension in the room.

Draco followed patiently with a glazed expression as she went over the various unfamiliar Muggle electronics. It wasn't like there was going to be a test on the information she was sharing – though with Hermione, one could never be quite sure. He wouldn't put it past her to whip out quills and paper and tell him to start taking notes.

His mind briefly wandered off in a naughty teacher fantasy. He hadn't been lost in fantasyland long when her voice brought him back out of inappropriately used office supplies.

"And this is my room," she said, finally peaking his interest. He looked around the room, noticing the pale green walls and the pink border of butterflies with glitter picking up the highlights in their wings. There was no red or gold in sight.

"Green walls? Where's your house loyalty?" he asked, amused. The glitter was going to have to remain unmentioned; as he wasn't sure she wouldn't hit him for picking on everything about the appearance of her childhood room.

Hermione narrowed her eyes at him. "I haven't repainted sine I was seven; children who have no idea they're magical and have never heard of Hogwarts find it hard to choose which house they're going to be in."

He grinned at her. It seemed that Hermione was a little defensive of her childhood bedroom. Still grinning, Draco wrapped his arms around the silently glaring brunette. She tensed but allowed the contact, meaning she wasn't as angry as she let on.

"I think it's adorable that you've unconsciously had an attraction to the colour green since you were young," he told her.

Hermione huffed at this, but she brought her arms up around his waist and leant against his chest. That ability of his to say something intended to piss her off and then completely calm her down again was off-putting, yet she couldn't stop herself from reacting just the way he wanted her to. He was a master of manipulation when he wanted to be and sometimes she was just a puppet. If it had been anyone else, she may have been concerned, but it was Draco, and she trusted him.

When her mum called them down for dinner, she pulled away from his warmth with a sigh. "Ready to face my parents?"

Draco frowned. "Never."

"Tough. We're rarely ever prepared to face the tough moments, it's the truly courageous who have the force of will to push on anyway."

He made a face at her. "If you're trying to motivate me down there, you're doing it wrong."

Hermione sighed at the git. "Do this and I'll wear the ridiculously uncomfortable outfit Daphne sent over."

He was out the door before she finished the sentence. She smiled after him; he didn't have Gryffindor bravery, but he did what he had to with the right motivation.


	23. Ron's Rude Return

**Chapter 22: Ron's Rude Return**

**A/N: We're running out of chapters! It's always sad to see a story wrapping up... *sigh* On the bright side, I have a new one in the works, so I'll have something to fill the void this one's going to leave.**

**As always, thanks to all you wonderful reviewers and to harrypotterluver123 (also wonderful) for betaing!**

**~Frosty**

He followed Hermione down the stairs. She was practically vibrating with her happiness about seeing her parents again while he was trudging down the stairs as if he were heading off to face his doom. The contrast would probably have been surprising to the outside observer, but anyone who knew the pair would say the two frequently found themselves at opposite ends of the spectrum.

They all sat at a table piled with many different foods, most of them Hermione's favourites. Draco was panicking slightly, so he allowed habit to take over and guide his actions. He missed the strange looks the older Grangers directed towards him as he pulled out a chair for Hermione and gently pushed her in once she was seated.

He took his own seat and finally noticed the odd looks directed his way. Not sure why they were staring, he decided it was time to make polite dinner conversation. The only problem was, he couldn't exactly talk about any of the topics his mother had always told him were appropriate for dinner conversation because most of it pertained to magic and a world these people weren't a part of. He'd just have to talk about something they knew.

"So... Um, how about those..." Quickly, he did a frantic search of some of the things Hermione had introduced him to on the tour of her house. "Light bulbs?"

The Grangers looked confused while Hermione, knowing exactly what had just happened with him, burst out laughing and nearly choked on her food. When she could breathe again, she pretended that he'd started a normal conversation. "I think the compact fluorescents are much more energy efficient than the traditional incandescent bulbs, but I find the cold white light isn't as comforting as the warm glow of the incandescent."

Her parents were skeptical, but they nodded along.

"You're just used to those candles that those magical people are always burning. I enjoy the white light, it's reminiscent of the nice light of the clinic. It also really brings out colours," Mrs. Granger chimed in.

"I prefer incandescent lights, the other ones make your mum look haggard," Hermione's dad added, making it obvious that he was kidding. Mrs. Granger threw a roll at his head.

Draco was completely lost, he didn't even pretend to know what was going on, but he was content to watch Hermione as she talked animatedly with her parents. Her eyes were alight with love and affection and she was gesturing enthusiastically to explain her points. He could see how much she'd missed them.

"You're awfully quiet over there," Mr. Granger said to Draco, having noticed the blond wasn't contributing much to the conversation, besides the occasional nod of agreement to something Hermione said.

"I don't know much about anything you're talking about," he answered - not rudely, just as a statement of fact.

"Hermione, I know I've taught you it's not polite to speak of things our guests aren't familiar with, it makes people feel left out," her mum scolded.

Draco winced a little at the statement; now he was going to be expected to make conversation. He'd been content to listen while they talked and watch his wife smile lovingly at her parents.

"So Draco, I know Hermione works at the Ministry, but I don't think I've ever heard what it is that you do," Mrs. Granger said.

Hermione quickly put a piece of food in her mouth to hide her wince at the question. Her parents were big on earning your own way in the world and she didn't think they'd approve of Draco's lifestyle of watching his piles of gold grow bigger.

"My family has old money, my job is mostly just to invest it," he said. His sharp eyes noticed the frowns both older Grangers wore, but he didn't see the problem with his lifestyle. Unwilling to argue his choices with these Muggles who knew nothing about his situation, he turned back to his food and took another bite.

Instead of the reaction Hermione was expecting, her father started a conversation with Draco about his stock portfolio – something that wasn't very different between the Muggle and Magical worlds.

When they were finished eating, Mr. and Mrs. Granger bid the young couple farewell in front of the fireplace.

"Come back soon!" Mrs. Granger said as she nearly hugged the life out of her daughter. There were tears gathering in the corners of her eyes.

Hermione was smiling hugely at Draco as they arrived back at the Manor.

"What?" He asked, unsure what he'd done to warrant the smile.

In a blur of brown hair, Hermione threw herself at the blond and wrapped him in a hug so tight he thought he felt his bones creak in protest.

"My parents are Muggles and you spent an entire evening making polite conversation with them for me," she said against his shirt.

"Really? He did that?" asked a surprised voice.

They both turned to find Blaise sitting on Draco's bed looking interested.

If Hermione hadn't been holding him so tightly, she was sure that Draco would have gone for his wand and hexed his friend right then. She felt his arm tense and reach towards the piece of wood, but her grip stopped him before his fingers could even brush it.

"Blaise," Draco gritted out when he realized that he wasn't going to be able to hex him. "What have I told you about coming into my room uninvited?"

The dark Slytherin shrugged. "Nothing that's going to stick. Let's skip the yelling and get to the part where you ask me why I'm here," he looked at them expectantly.

It was obvious that Draco wasn't going to play along with the game, so Hermione knew she was going to have to if she wanted to keep the peace. She released Draco from her hold and turned to face Blaise fully. "Why are you here Blaise?"

He grinned at them. "You're never going to guess!'

Hermione was used to idiocy - she'd dated Ron after all - but Blaise was testing her patience. It was a wonder Draco, with his famously short temper, hadn't killed the man a long time ago. "You're right; I'm never going to guess. Now tell us why you're here or leave!" she snapped.

Blaise looked like a puppy that had just been kicked and Hermione felt horrible, but honestly, he was on form with his annoying attitude that night and even she couldn't take it.

"I've asked Luna to marry me. I'll be more likely to be able to adopt if I'm in a stable relationship."

Draco snorted at that; he highly doubted that anything between Blaise and Looney Lovegood could be classified as _stable_. One of the people in the relationship had to be mentally sound before there could be any stability. In front of someone who didn't know either of them, he supposed the two _might _be able to pull off the facade of a mentally sound, stable couple - for a few hours.

"Congratulations," Hermione said. She knew that wizards married young, Purebloods even more so, but Luna wasn't even done school yet. It wasn't her place to judge though, so she just smiled. Underneath the worried thoughts about their age, she really was happy for them, the suited each other.

Blaise nodded, still looking a little hurt that she'd snapped at him. He expected that kind of thing from Draco, but Hermione was always so nice... The Malfoy hostility was obviously something that could be learned; he'd always assumed it was inherited.

"Yes, now _leave_," Draco snapped, not even looking at his friend.

As soon as Blaise had disappeared into the fire once again, Draco had Hermione in his arms and his lips crushed against hers.

"You're so hot when you yell at Blaise," he murmured between kisses.

She laughed and let him pull her to the bed.

* * *

Draco was sitting at the table eating his breakfast and flipping through the newspaper when something he read nearly made him choke on his coffee. It seemed the Weasel had escaped from St. Mungos. That wasn't good...

He sent a frantic glance at Hermione, who was calmly eating a bowl of fruit. She obviously hadn't noticed his brief moment of panic; it was unlikely that the emotion had even shown on his face. Something told him that the Weasel would be trying to find Hermione now that he was free.

"Anything interesting in the paper?" Hermione asked when she noticed that Draco was reading something with intensity.

Had she not known him so well, Hermione would have missed the tension in Draco's jaw as he shook his head. Something in the paper had caught his attention and he didn't want her to know about it.

She was about to ask him about it when he crinkled the paper up and threw it into the fire.

"Let's do something spontaneous," he said, only intensifying her suspicions.

One of her eyebrows rose in an expression she'd learned from him. "You want me to miss work and just... go somewhere?"

Draco nodded. "For once, just let go and relax. Let's go back to Greece."

"Draco, what was it you read in that paper that has you so freaked out?"

His face immediately closed off. "Nothing, I just think you need to let loose occasionally."

Hermione rose from her seat and made her way around the table so she was standing beside him looking down at the mild frown he was wearing. She kissed him on the cheek. "I have to go to work now. I'll see you when I get back."

His frown intensified when she left, but he knew better than to try and stop her. He just had to make sure the Weasel didn't somehow manage to get into the Ministry. Well, at least he knew what he was doing with his day now.

* * *

Claude was waiting for her when she got to the office. "Boss lady, are you sure you should be coming into work today after what happened?"

Hermione frowned. "I would know what's happened if my husband hadn't burnt the paper in a misguided attempt to protect me from whatever it is."

Wordlessly, Claude handed her the Prophet that was waiting on his desk.

She paled as she saw the front page. On it was a picture of her and Ron immediately after the Final Battle. They were smiling at each other fondly and holding hands while Harry looked on with his arms around Ginny. Despite all the bad they'd just witnessed, they were still able to find some good in each other.

Apparently Ron had escaped from St. Mungo's where he'd been seeking help for post-traumatic stress and a sprinkling of other issues. So _that _was why Draco had been so insistent that she not go into work. He obviously didn't share her confidence in the security measures in place at the Ministry.

Claude watched her intently as she read the paper. "Are you going to go home now?"

She shook her head. "No, I trust the security measures the Ministry has in place. If you feel uncomfortable being here today, you're welcome to take the day off though."

"With all due respect boss lady, you're insane if you think I'm going to sit at home with my cat and wonder what exciting thing I'm going to miss at the office today."

Laughing, Hermione took the paper with her and walked into her office, closing the door behind her. She was so focused on reading the details of Ron's escape that she didn't notice someone was already occupying her chair.

"I see you've read the news," he said, making her start in surprise and drop the paper. Her mouth opened to scream as her hand went to her wand, but she froze when she was that he had a wand levelled at her.

"Drop your wand," he ordered.

Not seeing another option, Hermione did what she was told. She knew she should be scared, and she was - to an extent - but the main thought running through her mind was that Draco was likely to show up at some point in the day and if he had to rescue her again, those worried looks would come back. She doubted Claude could be persuaded to help her make the blond angry again after what happened last time.

Ron leaned back in her chair and stared at her intently. "Do you have any idea what that _husband _of yours had them do to me in the hospital?" he spat.

Hermione frowned; she hadn't thought Draco did anything to Ron. She now realized that just because he hadn't mentioned doing anything didn't mean he hadn't been looking for ways to seek his revenge. "What did he do?" she asked, more out of curiosity than concern.

Looking deep into his eyes, she saw that there was little left of the Ron she had once loved in this man. He was broken.

"He had them replace my calming potions with sedatives. I slept for months, a prisoner in my own body! They were just going to let me waste away at the hospital. I would have if someone hadn't forgotten to administer my dosage on time and I woke up."

She wanted to say that Draco wouldn't do something like that, but she knew it would be a lie. He was sneaky and ruthless when it came to the people he cared about and she was happy to be considered one of those lucky people.

Ron was obviously unstable, and really fond of monologues, so she made sure to keep him talking. "What happened when you woke up? The paper just said you tricked a nurse."

"I'm glad you asked that, it was really quite clever of me-"

As he droned on about stealing a nurse's scrubs and identification to impersonate her, Hermione slowly edged towards her wand. Ron had always been caught up in himself, and it was working to her advantage for once. He didn't notice that she was up to something until she'd leant down, snatched up her wand and conjured ropes to tie him to her chair.

She took the wand he'd obviously stolen from someone and stuck it in her pocket. Ron immediately turned an unattractive shade of puce and started shouting insults at her, Draco, and everyone who associated with either of them. He definitely needed some time to cool down.

While he raged, she cast a silencing charm on him and moved to her door. Poking her head out, she addressed her secretary.

"Claude, would you mind sending some Aurors up here? I've found an escapee from St. Mungo's," she said calmly.

Poor Claude looked terrified; the man wasn't cut out for spending too much time in her presence, where there always seemed to be something dangerous happening. "Is everything all right in there?" he asked worriedly.

Hermione nodded. "Yes, everything's under control. Tell them to take their time; I'd actually like to have a few words with him before they take him away."

She went back into her office and closed the door behind her, happy to see that Ron seemed to have calmed down a bit.

Taking a seat in one of her visitor's chairs, she faced the angry redhead. "Now Ron, it seems like forever ago, but at one point in my life I loved you. It's only a lingering remembrance of that affection that is keeping me from just hexing you until you don't even remember how to_speak_, much less how to spew the poison you seem to continue to spout. You're going to go back to St. Mungo's and do everything you can to get your shit together."

The door to her office whipped opened, slamming into the wall with a resounding bang. Hermione glanced over her shoulder to see Draco glance around the room and take in the situation before he rushed at her and scooped her up in his arms.

"Thank Merlin you're all right," he said. "I don't know what I would have done had something happened to you."

Hermione smiled; though he couldn't see her expression because he was holding her so tightly that her body was moulded to his and her face was pressed to his chest. "Probably kill Ron and then take on the Ministry for their abominable security," she suggested.

He pulled her away from him and held her at arm's length. "I love you," he said suddenly.

So great was her shock that Hermione was only able to stare. Draco took it as a signal that she wanted him to continue. "When that scrawny man you call a secretary told me you'd called for Aurors already, I was forced to think of what I would do if you'd been hurt by that mental case over there. I've never been more scared in my life. So you're going to have to be more careful, this much worry can't be good for my heart."

Her answer was interrupted by the door once again banging against the wall. "Does no one _knock_?" She demanded, turning to face the new intruder.

"Not when there's a dangerous psycho out for the blood of my best friend," Harry said, ignoring the death-glare Malfoy was sending his way. Malfoy's glare was expected, what surprised him was Hermione's matching expression. She was obviously rattled by her traumatic experience and not in her right state of mind.

"Malfoy, maybe you should take Hermione home. I'll handle Ron," he said.

Normally, Hermione would have objected, but she wanted to continue their conversation, so she let Draco lead her to the nearest Floo.

In his rush to get her out of there and finish their conversation, Draco didn't specify what room they appeared in. They stumbled out of the fire into the dining room.

As soon as her feet were stable on the floor, Hermione launched herself at Draco and kissed him fiercely, catching him by surprise. He stumbled under the added weight and ended up falling against the table with her on top of him. His tailbone connected with the hard wood with enough force to hurt quite a bit, but she was distraction enough that he barely registered it.

"Did you mean it?" She asked when she pulled away.

Draco's brain was fogged by lust and he was a little bit confused. "Mean what?" he asked, focusing on her hands as they unbuttoned his shirt.

"That you loved me."

"Of _course _I love you, it's almost impossible to _not _love you. Even the bloody heartless _dragon _loves you! You're just so full of... you." So he wasn't at his most coherent, he thought it was an admiral answer all things considered.

"I love you too," Hermione said, smiling hugely.

Her confession spurred Draco into action. He flipped them so that she was lying on the table with him standing over her and proceeded to divest her of her shirt so they matched.

She gasped when he nipped her collarbone, which only encouraged him to repeat the action.

They were so caught up in each other they didn't notice the door click open and someone enter the room. The figure took a moment to stare with her mouth open, trying to process what was going on; her eyes were telling her one thing, but her brain was telling her there was no way that's what she was seeing. Eventually, they managed to reconcile and agree the eyes were right.

"Draco!" Narcissa yelled, horrified. Her voice startled the young couple, making them freeze. "I told you not until you're mar-" She saw his pointed look and frowned. "Not until you're thirty!"

Hermione was surprised when the composed woman actually blushed a bright pink.

"At least not on the dining-room table," the Malfoy matriarch yelled as she fled the room and slammed the door behind her.

"Dinner on Monday's going to be uncomfortable," Draco decided before continuing right where he'd left off. Hermione wanted to yell at him, she really did, but then he might _stop _to yell back – and she just couldn't have _that._


	24. Does That Kid Look Familiar?

**Chapter 23: Does That Kid Look Familiar?**

**A/N: I have no idea how hearings or trials... Whatever they are work, so I kind of just guessed. If the glaring inconsistencies bother you, pretend it's different in the magical world. If they still bother you, tell me where I went wrong and I'll try to do something about it.**

**There's only one chapter and an Epilogue after this! It always depresses me to approach the end of a story. *sigh***

**A huge thanks to everyone who reviewed and to harrypotterluver123 for betaing!**

**~Frosty**

"Lucius!" Narcissa exclaimed, bursting into his office where she knew he was going over the accounts like he'd done once a week since they'd been married. Her cheeks were still pink from the embarrassing scene she'd just witnessed when she'd happened to wander into the dining room to investigate the noise she'd heard.

Normally, he would have said something icy to her for interrupting him in such a way, but he was trying this... kindness thing that seemed to be working so well for his son and Hermione. So far, it was working pretty well for him as well if the last few weeks were anything to go by. He didn't even send his wife a nasty look for nearly making him upend his inkwell all over the papers scattered across the top of his desk.

"What is it Narcissa?" he asked calmly, taking the ice out of his voice. It was nice that she didn't glare at him or answer him coldly. Instead, she surprised him and blushed darker, something he hadn't seen her do since their wedding night. She looked rather fetching like that.

"Draco... Hermione. Dining room table!" she sputtered incoherently.

Lucius raised a pale brow and gestured for her to take a seat. The woman needed to calm herself so he could understand what Narcissa was trying to tell him. When she'd finally managed to take a deep breath and speak in full sentences again, Lucius burst out laughing. He glanced contemplatively at his desk and then back to his wife.

"I think the children have the right idea," he said, looking pointedly at his desk.

Her eyes widened in understanding and she giggled like the schoolgirl she hadn't been in years, her earlier embarrassment forgotten. Hermione really had done wonders for their relationship.

* * *

"Draco?" Hermione asked quietly, unsure if he was awake and even less sure if she wanted him to be.

"Mmmm?" he hummed.

She hesitated. After the dining room table, they'd moved into Draco's bed because the hard wood wasn't exactly comfortable. Hermione was in the place between contented sleep and awake that made it feel like the air was made out of something thick and comforting. Reality seem skewed, but in a happy way. That feeling was what had encouraged her to speak up in the first place.

Sighing, Hermione decided that yes, she really did want to know the answer to her question. "Did you have the hospital replace Ron's calming potions with sedatives to keep him asleep?"

He rolled over sleepily and wrapped an arm around her, pulling her close. "Mmhmm," he confirmed in a tired hum.

Well, at least Ron wasn't paranoid _and _insane. She knew that she should probably be mad at her husband, but she just settled against his warmth and closed her eyes. Draco was Draco and she'd come to stop being surprised by these type of things. His heart was in the right place... sort of. And she was still feeling a teensy bit vengeful towards Ron, so that helped her forgiveness towards her misguided spouse.

Draco realized what she'd just asked him and blinked his heavy eyelids open to look at the back of her head. Why wasn't she jumping up and hitting him or at least scolding? "You're not going to yell at me?"

"No," she sighed. "Ron's an ass... and I've kind of come to expect this kind of thing from you. But if you _ever _go behind my back to do something like that again, I'll remove your intestines and strangle you with them."

Draco was surprised. Once, during a huge fight they'd been having over something completely stupid and entirely her fault, Pansy had told him he'd never be able to find anyone who would put up with his vengeful and occasionally ruthless personality and love him. But then Hermione came along and proved the bitch wrong.

"Sometimes I wish Pansy were here so that she could see how wrong she was about us," he said quietly, not even sure if Hermione was awake anymore. She didn't answer, so he assumed she was and allowed himself to fall asleep.

Hermione turned her head to press an awkwardly angled kiss onto his shoulder. "I think so too."

It wasn't long before she followed him into slumber.

* * *

When Draco woke up, Hermione was gone. He looked around the room and didn't see her anywhere. With a frown, he closed his eyes again and concentrated on the wards. She wasn't anywhere in the Manor. It wasn't a work day, so he had no idea where she could be.

The whole incident with Weasley had left a bad taste in his mouth and a vague feeling that something was going to go wrong. He broke out of St. Mungo's only to have a few words with Hermione in a desperate attempt to make her see the real Draco Malfoy she was married to? Unlikely – though he really shouldn't underestimate the stupidity and vindictive spite of a Weasel.

After Flooing her office, Potter's house, her parents and even stopping in at a few bookstores, Draco was starting to get really worried. Where in the world would Hermione just disappear to? Blaise was his last stop before he alerted the Aurors and filled out a missing person's report. She could yell at him for overreacting when he had her back safe, or, if something had happened to her, she'd throw herself at his feet in gratitude for the forethought he'd had.

Immediately upon arriving at Zabini Manor, Draco knew something was wrong. It was quiet... too quiet. The only time Blaise was ever completely quiet was when he was up to something or when he was sleeping – which didn't necessarily mean he wasn't up to something.

Draco crept up the stairs to Blaise's bedroom, where he stopped outside the door to listen. The dark Slytherin was a snorer, something Draco had learned through years of sharing a dormitory with Blaise. If he was sleeping, listening at the door would be able to confirm it.

Surprisingly, it wasn't snoring Draco heard, but a quiet groan and then a small gasp. It sounded like Blaise had a girl over. An evil grin spread across the blond's face, he was willing to bet that despite how many times he'd told others people they should lock their doors, Blaise had forgotten to do just that.

The grin widened when the doorknob twisted easily under his reaching hand. Ah, revenge was going to be sweet... if slightly traumatic for his retinas. But revenge was going to be worth it.

Before either of the occupants of the room could notice his shadow under the door, Draco turned the knob and burst into the room, his Cheshire smile still in place. Tangled on the bed were Blaise and Lovegood. Thankfully, both were fully clothed.

They both turned to stare at their visitor in surprise. It didn't take long for Blaise's surprise to turn into irritation. It seemed he didn't quite grasp the irony of the situation. Draco had a feeling he could explain it and his friend would _still _not grasp it entirely.

"Do you not _knock_?" Blaise demanded angrily.

Draco didn't drop the evil grin on his face. "You should lock the door," he echoed his friend's earlier words.

Blinking her owlish eyes at him, Luna smiled. She didn't seem bothered at all that she'd just been caught in a compromising position. "Are you here for Hermione?" she asked in that dreamy way of hers.

Blaise flinched as Draco eyes hardened and turned to his friend accusingly. "Where's Hermione?" he asked, the steel in his voice promising pain if he was denied an answer. It was obvious from Blaise's reaction that Hermione wasn't sitting in the kitchen having tea with the elves and trying to get them to leave their lives of slavery.

Under the heavy weight of his friend's chilling stare, Blaise deemed it best that he not say anything. Luna however, had no such reservations. "Hermione's in the pantry off the main kitchen," she said happily.

With a groan, Blaise slapped a hand over his face. "Luna, do you have any idea the things they'll think up for revenge once they're together?" he muttered as Draco turned on his heel and stormed out of the room.

As Draco neared the kitchens, he started to hear yelling and banging. It seemed that Hermione wasn't taking her imprisonment quietly. He was surprised that he hadn't noticed the noise before. She was going to be so pissed when he let her out... it was going to be glorious.

Once in the kitchens, Draco made his way to where he knew the pantry to be. Standing outside the door, he saw Hermione's wand on the ground and a large barrel of what was probably wine along with various other things blocking her escape. Apparently, Blaise didn't trust a locking charm; he'd locked her in there the Muggle way.

"Hermione?" Draco called as he started levitating things away from the door.

She stopped banging on the door and wordlessly screaming. "Draco, let me out of here!" Hermione yelled at her most shrill.

"I'm working on it," he grumbled.

When the last object was moved away from the door, Hermione burst out, fuming mad. She flashed a quick smile of thanks at the blond when he handed over her wand.

"What happened?" Draco asked. He grasped her by the shoulders and looked her up and down, checking for injuries. If Blaise had harmed one hair on her bushy head, then he wasn't going to live to see the dawn.

Hermione's already raging eyes darkened further at the memory. "I was sleeping when Blaise came in and grabbed me. He locked me in the pantry and said kidnapping me was the only way you'd come visit him or some such nonsense."

He nodded his head; that sounded like something Blaise would do. The blighter got lonely when he went too long without visits from his friends and tended to do barmy things as a result. That way, when he did something stupid, he could say it was their fault for leaving him to his own devices for too long. Draco would have appreciated the cunningness of the whole arrangement if it hadn't caused him to suffer on one too many occasions.

"What're we going to do about it?" Draco asked. Sure, he was planning on getting revenge somehow, but he was also more than willing to assist Hermione in whatever it was she saw fit to do.

Surprised, Hermione looked at him, the anger sparking in her eyes fading to confusion. "You're going to help me with whatever it is I'm planning just like that?" she asked.

"Of course," he shrugged, not seeing what the all the fuss was about.

"I'm used to people trying to talk me down from my anger, not offering to help me," she mumbled. Ron had always been a little bit afraid of her and Harry liked to avoid conflict as much as possible. Rarely did they go along with her rage – much less _encourage _it.

"You've not spent enough time around Slytherins darling," Draco drawled, leading the way out of the room. "Now, what's the plan?"

She followed after him, thinking hard. While trapped in the pantry, she'd been working out exactly what she wanted to do as her revenge on the obviously unstable Slytherin, but hadn't been able to come up with something adequately evil.

"Nothing," she announced.

Draco stopped and looked askance at her, not passing his judgement until she'd explained her decision. Blaise deserved some kind of pain and torment for taking his _wife _from her _bed _in the middle of the night! Just thinking about it was making him enraged all over again.

"Yes, we're not going to do anything," she looked at him pointedly._"Either _of us."

He didn't object, but he gestured for her to elaborate. It wasn't for nothing that Hermione was known as the smartest witch of her year; he'd hear her out before suggesting they locked Blaise in a room with some rabid bears. And then an irritated elephant, just to mix it up a little.

"The anticipation's going to kill him, and he'll spend _years _just waiting for us to strike."

Her evil grin and devious mind made it impossible for Draco to resist reaching forward and pulling her against him. He dropped a quick kiss on her lips and wrapped both arms around her waist to drag her to the fireplace without breaking the contact.

"I love it when you talk Slytherin," he told her, making her giggle as they stumbled back out of the fire and into his room. They'd leave Blaise sitting in his room, just waiting for the explosion he expected after his actions.

* * *

When the time came for Blaise's hearing, both Hermione and Draco donned formal robes and left for the Ministry. Neither of them had made any contact with the Italian Slytherin since the whole closet incident, so they didn't know how he was handling the whole thing. His separation from his friends in a time of need was in itself a punishment for him, someone who depended heavily on the support of others.

They stepped into the courtroom and looked around for the moron who was still their friend despite his idiotic actions.

"Hermione, Draco, you came!" Luna said happily as she glided gracefully across the marble floor towards the young Malfoy couple. "Blaise wasn't sure you were going to show up after the little stunt he played. He doesn't handle stress well; he gets needy."

"No matter how needy he is, it's not alright to kidnap someone," Draco insisted. He'd been staring at the other blonde's feet since she'd come up to them. Her dress was too long for him to know for sure, but he was relatively certain that she wasn't wearing shoes and was just skating in her socks across the marble Ministry floors. If that was the case, she was living one of his childhood dreams – lucky bint.

Just then, Blaise walked into the room wearing a formal pair of dress robes and looking so anxious he was practically _vibrating _with nervous energy. He started when he caught sight of the Malfoys, but Hermione smiled at him and beckoned him over, making him relax a tad.

"You two aren't here to get me back for that whole... incident, are you?" he asked when he reached them. His body was tensed; ready to lunge behind a piece of furniture should hexes start flying.

"Don't be silly Blaise, we're here to support you, aren't we Draco?" Hermione asked, looking up at her husband. For a moment, he looked like he was seriously considering some sort of attempt at sabotage of the hearing out of spite. She fixed that by stepping on his foot and giving him a pointed look.

"Of course. We're here for support," Draco recited in an unconvincing monotone with his eyes on the scuff mark on his otherwise shiny shoe. Hermione _knew _he like his shoes uniformly shiny; she could have just elbowed him in the ribs, but instead she'd chosen to leave him with a reminder to behave. That little scuff was going to bother him for the entire trial. A Malfoy would never do something a menial as shine shoes, particularly in public.

Having been friends with the volatile blond for years, Blaise knew that was the best he was going to get and accepted it with a grateful smile at Hermione.

Blaise was so nervous he fumbled and dropped the stack of papers that he'd been holding. They fell to the floor and fanned out across their feet. With a curse at his clumsiness, he bent down to start retrieving them, joined by Hermione and Luna.

Draco didn't bend down to help pick up the papers because it was Blaise's own clumsy fault for dropping them. He did, however, catch a glimpse of Lovegood's feet when her dress shifted as she reached for a piece of paper. She really wasn't wearing any shoes!

To prevent himself from saying anything that would give away his jealousy, he looked shifted his gaze to his shoes, where he knew that horrid scuff mark was waiting. Instead of the mark, he was met with a photo that had fallen out of the sheaf of papers and landed on his foot.

"Blaise," he snatched the photo off of the floor and showed it to his friend. "Is this the kid you're adopting?"

"Yeah, that's him. Why?"

Draco was just about to answer when the judge entered the room and they all had to take their seats.

"What is it?" Hermione whispered to her husband, seeing he had something on his mind.

The blond looked unusually troubled. "Did that boy in the picture look... familiar to you?"

"No, should he have?"

"I'm not sure yet."

They both turned their attention to the front as everyone was called to order.

The judge looked under the lenses of his glasses at the papers he was shuffling. "Everything looks good here. There's just one glitch in the proceedings; it seems that the child's birth mother has come forward and claims to want him back."

Everyone glanced towards the doors as a woman with a shiny bob and a razor of a smile clicked into the room on overly-high heels. She seemed to be soaking up the attention she was receiving, despite the fact that most of it was negative.

"I'm sure now," Draco whispered. "It was the nose that gave him away, poor kid."

Hermione could only stare in shock; it seemed that almost everyone else in the room was of a similar mindset.


	25. The Evil Twin's Always the One with the

**Chapter 24: The Evil Twin's Always the One with the Moustache**

**A/N: Thanks to Amusant for the suggestion about what happened to Goyle. Also, thanks to harrypotterluver123 for betaing and to everyone who reviewed!**

**This is the last chapter *tear*. There's just an epilogue left!**

**~Frosty**

"Pansy?" Blaise said in disbelief. His single quiet word would hardly have been able to travel across the room if they hadn't all fallen completely silent.

While everyone was staring at the new arrival, Draco had turned his eyes elsewhere. He frowned as he looked at the child before turning his eyes back to his former friend. His earlier comment about the kid's nose had been correct; it was a shame he'd inherited it from his pug of a mother.

Pansy turned her cool eyes onto the man who wanted to raise her child. "I'm not about to let someone like _you _raise the youngest Parkinson. He deserves better."

"He's living in a hospital in need of an operation that they don't have the funding to do and you show up _now _when he's about to get a new family?" Blaise asked. Hermione had rarely heard him anything but happy, so it was strange to hear him so worked up about something. It seemed that his heart really went out to the poor kid. She was a little comforted that everything would be fine with his little family if he was already so devoted to the boy.

"Silence!" the judge ordered. "Now, Miss. Parkinson, explain to everyone why it is that you've decided _now _to reclaim your child instead of last year when it became obvious that he would need the surgery."

For the first time since she'd entered the room, Pansy looked unsure. It was just a flash of emotion before she smothered it with her confident mask, but Hermione was staring at her hard so she noticed it. The ice queen was up to something.

"He's my blood and I'm not about to let anyone else raise him," Pansy said with her nose in the air.

The judge seemed skeptical. "Are you saying that you've only made an appearance to stop someone else from taking your child into a home where he has a chance at happiness?"

"Of course not! I've finally managed to save up the money to afford his operation and I've come to take him back to my loving home. I was so young when he was born; I wasn't ready to raise a child. But now, now I'm ready to take on parenthood." She wiped a tear from the corner of her eye with a finger, showing off her perfectly manicured nails and a large ring.

"I'm not sure I believe you, Miss. Parkinson, but the law on these matters is clear. If you are willing to take responsibility for the child, then-"

"Stop!" Draco stood from his seat. As much as he didn't think Blaise should be responsible for another life, he knew his friend would do a better job of raising the kid than Pansy ever could. "While everyone was staring at Parkinson's dramatic entrance, I was looking at her son. Did anyone else see the look of terror on his face when his harpy of a mother walked into the room? What kind of mother would she have to be for a child, known for their unconditional love of their parents, to react that way upon seeing her?" He sat back down, but immediately stood again when he caught sight of her shoes. "I'd also like to draw attention to her heels. If there's one thing my mother's good at, it's shopping. She bought that same pair of heels last year. I remember this because Father was upset that they were so expensive. The things cost enough to pay for this operation ten times over." That said, he took his seat once again. Beside him, Hermione smiled radiantly.

The judge was looking at Pansy with disgust. "Miss. Parkinson, kindly remember we have access to Veritaserum and you will be subject to it should you still want your son back."

Pansy paled. "Fine, I'm only here because I don't want Zabini to raise my son."

"You forfeited the right to decide that when you gave him up for adoption," the judge said sternly. He waved at the Aurors standing beside the doors and they stepped forward to escort her from the room. Nose in the air again, Pansy strutted from the room like she thought she was some kind of runway model. Her delusions had obviously escalated to an alarming level if she thought anyone would look at her with anything but contempt after her little display.

As soon as she was through the door, everyone started chattering. From what Hermione could hear of the things being said, none of it was complimentary towards Parkinson.

Everyone had to be called back to order with a resounding bang on the judge's gavel.

"I grant custody of this child to Blaise Zabini," he said with another bang of the gavel.

With a huge smile Blaise rushed scooped Todd up in a huge hug. He even tried to rush over and hug the judge, but was turned away by a very disapproving looking Auror. Contrite, but unable to restrain his excitement, Blaise grabbed Luna in a one-armed hug and Todd's shoulders with the other and tugged them from the courtroom.

Hermione and Draco followed the others out of the courtroom.

"You're officially Blaise junior," Blaise told the boy. "I was thinking 'Popcorn' for a middle name. It's delicious stuff as long as you know how to pop it, otherwise, you only gnaw on the crunchy bits and they don't taste very good."

The boy wrinkled his nose. "Blaise, my name's Todd."

"Yes, but that's a perfectly boring name. I really don't know what your mum was thinking. How about just 'Popcorn'? We can skip Blaise junior."

Hermione looked around at the other people listening to the conversation, hoping she wouldn't have to be the one to inject some sanity into the situation. Luna was nodding along happily, and Draco looked like he dearly wanted to start banging his head against the wall. Well, it was up to her then.

"Blaise, don't you think it might be a good idea to let him settle in before you start changing things? You want to make a smooth transition." She could only hope he'd see reason and leave the poor kid and his name alone. Who wanted to be named after a snack food? Obviously not little Todd if the grateful smile he directed towards her was any indication.

A Mediwitch approached them. "We'd like to get the operation started as soon as possible. If you could just say your goodbyes?"

Blaise hugged Todd and then moved aside for Luna and then Hermione to hug the child.

When Draco's turn came, he didn't hug him. It wasn't entirely unexpected, but his wife still gave him a reproachful frown. The blond rolled his eyes and stepped into place in front of Todd.

Draco stared at the child with an unreadable expression that was making the young boy visibly uncomfortable. Just when Hermione was about to intervene, the blond kneeled down to Todd's level and murmured a few things to him.

When he had finished, Draco was looking pleased and the child appeared to be more comfortable with his new situation. The nurse escorted the boy away with Blaise and Luna trailing behind so they would be at the hospital when he awoke.

"What did you say to him?" Hermione asked Draco.

"Don't be afraid to whack Blaise when he starts doing stupid things like trying to change names into snack foods, or lock up people's wives," Draco watched the newly-formed family with something akin to worry. "With Lovegood and Blaise raising him, that boy is going to end up the voice of reason in their house – poor kid."

* * *

Hermione was scribbling so furiously on the paper resting on her lap that she didn't notice Draco come into the room. He stood for a moment in the doorway wondering why there were files spread out across _his _bed when she could have used one of the many desks in the house, or even her own bed.

"Hermione?" he asked. It seemed that she didn't hear him; the scribbling of her quill didn't even slow down at his voice.

"Hermione?" he tried again, starting to get impatient with her continued indifference to his presence.

She continued to ignore him. Draco didn't like being ignored, particularly by his wife while she was in his bed. What paperwork could possibly be more important than _him_?

Silently, he stalked across the room, shucking his shirt as he went. _That _was sure to get her attention. He stopped and watched as she her attention remained firmly on the papers. Her honey eyes hadn't even glanced over at him!

When he whipped the paper out of her lap and threw it across the room, she started and finally noticed his presence.

"What was that for?" she demanded, moving to get up and retrieve the papers.

Draco pushed her back down by her shoulders and climbed into the bed with her, not caring that he was crinkling things that were probably important. He was dead set on making her not care as well. "Nothing is important enough to distract you while you're in my bed and I'm standing half-naked in front of you."

Finally understanding what had him so upset, Hermione laughed. He was acting like a cat that got pouty and sat on papers when she wasn't showering it with attention as it believed she should. "Don't be such a child Draco. I have to do work sometimes, and I figured since you usually read before bed, it wouldn't be that big of a deal for me to keep you company while I do paperwork."

His silver eyes narrowed at her. "You're calling me a child while I'm pinning you to the bed?"

"Only because you're _being _a child and pinning me to the bed. Now what was it you wanted before you got all worked up about my attention being elsewhere?"

Draco actually had to pause and think about what it was that had caused him to go seek out Hermione. "Couldn't have been very important if I've forgotten already."

That said, he leant down to kiss her.

It was a few hours later when Draco suddenly remembered what it was that he'd been forgetting to tell his wife – ask her really.

"Do you have any idea where Goyle is? You knew last time and I was just wondering..." he trailed off, unsure how to finish the question without getting himself in trouble on the off chance he was wrong.

"If I left him somewhere horrible and forgot about him?" she finished for him, understanding where he'd been going with the question.

He nodded.

Thoughtfully, Hermione placed a finger on her cheek and lightly tapped it against her skin. "I do have this niggling feeling that he may have somehow ended up a female and stranded at sea on a sixteenth century pirate ship."

Draco was impressed. "Why a pirate ship?"

"Because it's very likely that he'll be treated like an object and harassed. Even if he isn't, he'll be reduced to serving wench at best. Hopefully, he'll learn a little respect for women."

Not completely convinced that her idea was going to work, but unwilling to refute her – particularly after hearing what she'd done to his former friend, Draco only nodded. "Or at least a deep hatred of pirates."

Goyle always had seemed to take orders well; maybe he'd be a good serving wench.

"Why did you want to know where he was?" Hermione asked.

"Blaise is throwing a party for Todd when the tyke gets out of the hospital after his operation; I didn't want him accidentally hiring Goyle to give the children donkey rides."

Hermione snorted at the idea.

* * *

"I don't see why we had to bring a present," Draco muttered as they Apparated into Blaise's home.

Hermione rolled her eyes; she'd been having this argument with Draco for the past hour, ever since he'd wandered into the room and fond her wrapping the gift. She was pretty sure it wasn't the gift itself, but the wrapping paper that he'd found fault with. It was a bright blue with little clowns and confetti scattered randomly across it. The glitter had been particularly offensive to him, but what he really seemed to hate was the curlicues of ribbon that she'd used scissors to curl by hand instead of looking up a spell that would achieve the same result.

"And why do I have to carry it?" he grumbled.

She fluttered her lashes at him in an overly girly expression that she would never use seriously. "Because you're the big, strong man in this relationship."

Draco huffed, not believing her. She just didn't want to be seen carrying the ridiculously frilly box and looking like an idiot. There was obviously some kind of evil thrill she was getting from making him carry the present.

The pattering of small footsteps met their ears the moment they were inside the house. Todd came into view looking much healthier than he had the last time they'd seen him. His cheeks had filled out a little and they were pinker than before. He looked happy.

When his eyes landed on the present, they rounded to the size of saucers and he started bouncing on the balls of his feet. "Is that for me?"

Draco nodded and set the box on the floor, glad to be rid of the thing.

"Hermione, Draco, you made it!" Blaise said happily.

Neither of the Malfoys could answer, they were too busy staring at Blaise – particularly the strange thing that resided just below his nose.

"Blaise, what the hell is that on your face?" Draco demanded.

Bringing a hand up to stroke the sleazy moustache that he'd obviously stuck to his face with an adhesive, Blaise grinned. "I'm not Blaise, I'm his evil twin Fabio. You can always tell the even twin by the moustache." He looked down at Todd. "Where's your moustache young man?" His voice was surprisingly stern considering his unusual request.

"It fell off somewhere. I don't like it because it's itchy," the child complained. His eyes slid to the floor, making Hermione suspect that the boy had purposely hidden it somewhere.

"You will wear your moustache or you won't get any cake."

Hermione had heard parents use that tone with their children before; when he dad used it, it usually meant she was in big trouble. It was for serious things, like an accidental use of magic that nearly lit the babysitter on fire, or the time she'd tied one of the neighbour children to a tree and left him there overnight for making fun of her teeth and her hair, never for something as silly as a misplaced moustache.

Pouting, Todd left the room in search of his fake moustache.

"I think I'm getting the hang of this parenting thing," Blaise said excitedly to Draco.

So great was Draco's desire to hit his friend that Hermione could see his hand twitch towards him. She was obviously going to have to handle this one. Her husband would need to be stopped from hitting his friend before she gave Blaise a talking to.

Reaching towards him, Hermione grabbed Draco's hand and laced their fingers together. He relaxed slightly, but she was going to have to keep an eye on him if Blaise was going to continue with his backwards parenting ideas.

"Blaise-" she started, only to be interrupted by the appearance of Luna, also wearing a moustache.

"Have any of you seen Todd? I found his moustache stuck on one of the House Elves in the kitchen," the dreamy blonde asked. She held up a smaller version of the furry thing both she and Blaise had stuck on their faces. Hermione tried not to laugh at what it must have looked like on a House Elf. She briefly wondered if that would count as a gift of clothing and stored that idea away for later.

"Luna, I'm pretty sure it's only the _male _evil twins that wear the moustaches," Hermione said.

"Don't be silly, Hermione." Luna waved her wand, causing a moustache to appear on both Hermione and Draco. The latter of which immediately ripped his off and incinerated it with an angry stab of his wand.

The blonde woman swayed off in the direction Todd had left in.

"Isn't she great?" Blaise asked, sighing after her.

They were saved from having to answer by the pop of another Apparation. The clicking of heels announced the reappearance of someone they'd all been hoping never to see again – Pansy.

"What's _she _doing here?" Draco said; his voice heavy with venom and his knuckles white around his wand.

"She's his birth mother, Draco. I can't just cut her out of her son's life," Blaise explained, serious for once.

Pansy crossed her arms as she took in the trio standing in front of her. "I'm not staying long; I just couldn't pass up a chance to gloat about the marriage you two are stuck in." She scrunched up her nose in disdain when she caught sight of the moustache Hermione had yet to remove from her face. "I figured I'd only need to stay for a few minutes, so I didn't bother bringing the kid a present. I've already ruined my figure to give him 'the gift of life'."

Opening and closing her mouth like a fish, Hermione wasn't sure what part of the cruel tirade she should address first. Luckily, Draco had no such issues.

"You know, Pansy. I hated you for saddling me with Granger, but once I realized I loved her more than anything, I felt _sorry _for you because the only love you'll ever know is for yourself."

She looked outraged, spots of colour growing on her cheeks. As she opened her mouth to call them all manner of horrible names, Blaise interrupted her.

"I thought you genuinely wanted to be a part of Todd's life, but if you're only here to gloat you can just leave," he said firmly.

Pansy crossed her arms and glared. "I don't think I will. I want to have a few words with my son before I leave. I'm going to tell him-"

She popped out of existence midsentence.

Blaise looked at Draco accusingly, but the blond was looking at his wife. "Where'd you send her?" Draco asked.

Hermione grinned, making her moustache bunch up towards the middle. She was really taking the 'evil twin' thing seriously. "Pirate ship," she said, as if that explained everything. Blaise was confused, but judging by Draco's expression, it did.

"Is Pansy there to learn some respect for women as well?" Draco questioned. Blaise made a mental note to find out what in the world they were talking about.

"No. She just pissed me off."

Draco chuckled and kissed the top of her head.

"I found my moustache! Cake and presents now?" Todd asked, running into the room with his moustache back in place.

"I don't know why I associate myself with you people," Draco muttered.

Hermione waved her wand and conjured another moustache to stick over the blond's frowning mouth. "Because no matter how much you complain, you love us all."


	26. Epilogue

**Epilogue**

**A/N: Hello readers! A few of you are wondering who Todd's dad is... And honestly, I don't know. It's no on who is important to the plot in this story, just some random person. *shrugs* It doesn't really matter.**

**Okay, apparently, there's a discrepancy with Todd's age. I've searched and searched, but I can't **_**find **_**it. Thanks to **kat lousise **for trying to help, but I'm kind of hopeless and need the exact words it says. So! If anyone can tell me exactly (or the exact words) where that little screw up is, I'd be grateful, I feel like I've read the last few chapters about 6 times trying to find it...**

**A huge thanks to GreekGirl for suggesting the idea that finished up this chapter. I was stuck until she gave me an idea! Also thanks to harrypotterluver123 for betaing and to everyone who reviewed! **

elizaII** has done a lovely artwork from a scene in this story. You should check it out!  
elizaii . deviantart . com / art / Pansy – s – revenge – 213329533**

**Just remove the spaces.**

**~Frosty**

Hermione's head jerked up when she heard a thud from the garden. Her eyebrows drew together as she tried to figure out what in the world could make a sound like that. If she had to guess, she'd say something very large had just collided with the ground.

Placing a steadying hand on her rounded stomach and another on the armrest of her chair, she levered herself in a standing position, once again wishing the baby would just come _out _already. People were always on about 'the wonder of life' or some such nonsense, but rarely did they wax poetic about the backache and swollen ankles.

The lions and Crookshanks watched her warily. Since her pregnancy had made moving around freely difficult, the four felines had taken to napping around her feet, as if encouraging her to join them for catnaps. Draco still thought they were trying to kill him – as he voiced on numerous occasions – but he trusted them around her, even in her vulnerable state.

She waddled across the room, feeling like a blimp. Draco didn't seem to mind her appearance at all; in fact he seemed to get no end of enjoyment from knowing that it was _his _child she was carrying. It must have been a male thing, because Hermione thought he was insane to be attracted to a human balloon. She was going to have to keep him away from Harry's aunt or she might lose him. Chuckling at the thought, Hermione peeked out the window.

At her excited screech, one of the lions padded over and looked through the glass as well.

"He's back!" Hermione told the cats excitedly as she rushed out of the room.

Crookshanks meowed an order to the lions; each of them was to fetch one of the blond ones. There were a lot of stairs between his mistress and the ground floor, and someone needed to keep an eye on her. He followed her out of the room, making distresses noises whenever she walked too fast.

Hermione ignored the grunted protests of her cat as she climbed down the stairs. No matter how excited she was, she wasn't going to disregard the safety of her child, so she made sure to go at a reasonable pace and keep a hand firmly on the banister at all times. Really, Crookshanks had nothing to complain about, she wasn't doing anything _dangerous_. Sometimes she worried Draco was rubbing off on the cat, or that he secretly had talks with the feline. They probably conspired to keep her off of her feet as much time as possible.

She rushed through the back doors, leaving them wide open in her impatience. The roar that met her ears the moment the creature set his big, yellow eyes on her didn't slow her progress in the slightest. A normal person would have paused when faced with such a large creature, but Hermione wasn't fazed in the least.

Throwing her arms around the creature, she rested her face against his cool scales. "I missed you so much Cupcake."

The dragon rumbled his agreement, nuzzling her hair with his large nose.

"Now why have you run away from your sanctuary?" Hermione demanded. She took a step back and put her hands on her hips, staring until Cupcake looked properly contrite.

* * *

When Draco realized he wasn't going to get the lion to get off of his desk so he could finish going over his accounts, he sighed and stood from his chair. Even magic probably wouldn't be able to return the valuable antique to its original form.

"Fine, you contrary beast. What is it you want?" he asked with exasperation.

The feline padded over to the open door and looked back over her shoulder expectantly. Sighing, Draco followed the creature out of the room. Hermione had been well-sorted when the hat put her in Gryffindor, she was just as alternatively stubborn and affectionate as the lionesses she insisted on keeping.

When he heard a roar so loud that it shook the house on its foundations, his stomach dropped; he had a pretty good idea what it was that had the lions so agitated. He could only hope he was wrong; Hermione wasn't going to just let this one go without a fight.

Walking through the still-open doors, his stomach dropped even father. Normally, he loved being right, but not this time.

He wasn't sure if he'd ever seen a more terrifying sight than his very pregnant wife scolding a Hungarian Horntail with her hands on her hips. The woman was trying to give him a heart attack – that was the only explanation he could think of for her behaviour.

"Hermione, get away from the dragon," he hissed.

The brunette glanced at him over her shoulder, but she just rolled her eyes and went right back to her scolding. Cupcake had his head dipped in shame as she berated him for 'thanking the people who kept the sanctuary working by abandoning them'. She seemed to be worried that the dragon had made his keepers feel underappreciated by leaving them.

Draco sidled up to his wife and wrapped an arm around her waist. "Let's go inside and owl the sanctuary that we've found one of their missing dragons, love."

Her head snapped around and her eyes narrowed as she took in his words. "How long have you known he was missing?" she demanded, furious that he would keep something so important from her.

The blond winced, knowing he'd screwed up. "A few days, I didn't want to worry you in your condition."

"I'm _pregnant_, not mentally unhinged! I'm perfectly capable of handling the news of Cupcake going missing."

Draco wasn't so sure about her mental stability, what with some of the food cravings she'd had throughout her pregnancy – how she managed to consume spinach with cream cheese frosting on pasta without vomiting after still baffled him – but he wasn't going to tell her that. He started to tug Hermione away from the dragon, but she resisted.

Suddenly, Cupcake let out another roar that nearly deafened Draco. He was horrified when it was answered by another, higher-pitched roar. A slightly smaller Hungarian Horntail flew into view, landing beside Cupcake with a ground-shaking thud. Shakily, a third, very small Horntail followed, crash-landing right on top on the other two.

Hermione was delighted. "Cupcake has a _mate _and a _baby_," she said, actually clapping her hands in excitement. She tried to break free of Draco's hold and rush towards the new arrivals, but he held her fast; hugging Cupcake was bad enough, he wasn't going to let her hug the other two as well when they had no idea how the dangerous creatures would react to the affection.

She added up what Draco had said while he pulled her back inside the house. "Wait, you _knew_ Cupcake had a mate and a baby! Why didn't you tell me that? Thought it would cheer me up too much while I felt like a blimp?"

The blond shut the door firmly behind them. "I didn't tell you because you're pregnant and the moment you heard the news, you were going to insist on going to visit them. A dragon sanctuary is no place for someone in that condition."

Lucius and Narcissa just watched as their son dug himself deeper and deeper into a hole. Eventually, Hermione slapped him and stormed up the stairs in tears.

"I told you she was turning this place into a bloody zoo," Lucius told his son while the boy stood there with his hand covering his burning cheek and a bewildered expression.

"Best give her some time to cool off dear," Narcissa told him.

* * *

Hermione stormed up the stairs, furious. She knew that she wasn't being reasonable, but Draco just made her so _angry _sometimes.

Her breathing hitched for a moment and her hand moved to rub her stomach when the little one gave her a good kick to the ribs. It seemed he didn't like it when mummy and daddy fought. She sighed and headed to the bathroom to run them both a nice, soothing bath. The baby seemed to like it when she took baths – or maybe he just liked it when she was calm.

She waited patiently while the bath filled, perched on the edge of the large claw-footed tub and swinging one of her legs, trailing a hand in the water and playing with the bubbles. Something about bubbles made the bath that much more relaxing.

The water finished filling and she slipped into the warm embrace of the bubble bath. She idly swished the bubbles back and forth as she closed her eyes. Maybe Draco made the teensiest bit of sense when he hadn't told her about Cupcake's disappearance. She wouldn't intentionally put her child in danger, but she had been known to literally worry herself sick over things and Cupcake's disappearance would have made her worry.

When the door clicked open and someone quietly made their way over to the bathtub, she didn't open her eyes; there was only one person who would just casually wander into the room when it was almost guaranteed she was naked.

A hand gently pushed aside the wet strands of hair that were sticking to her face.

"I'm sorry I upset you, but not that I was trying to keep the both of you safe," he said quietly.

She rubbed her palm on her stomach when the baby kicked again. The little guy felt determined to dislodge her kidneys or something. Draco put his hand on top of hers and the baby immediately calmed.

"It's not fair he always calms right down for _you_, you're not the one getting abused" she grumbled.

"He can already tell which one of us is going to be the parent who spoils him rotten," Draco said smugly.

The baby always seemed to calm when Draco was there. She suspected the child was reacting to her feeling towards her husband and not out of affection because he could recognise his father, but Draco was enjoying being smug about it, so she didn't ruin his illusions.

He'd come a long way from the man who had been terrified he was going to be a bad father. When Hermione had told him she was pregnant, he'd been unable to look at her for an entire day. She'd thought he was disappointed about the news and had been trying to find a way to tell her. Eventually, he'd come to her and explained that he hadn't had the best role model parenting-wise as he was growing up. It had taken a little reassurance, but he was excited about the baby.

"I'm not going to let you spoil him, we don't want another little prat walking around insulting everyone," she sniffed, not entirely serious.

"A miniature copy of me is better than a miniature copy of _Blaise_," Draco said with a shudder. One of his greatest fears seemed to be Luna getting pregnant and producing a small version of his best mate. Hermione thought it was a ridiculous fear.

"There's no way Todd's going to let Blaise turn a little brother into a small version of his father," she said for what felt like the millionth time.

Draco laughed. "He's the only kid I know who _insists _he has vegetables and doesn't let his parents leave the table until they've _both _eaten all of the food off of their plates. _Especially _the vegetables."

Hermione finally opened her eyes to look up at him as he perched on the edge of the tub. "We're not going to send Cupcake back if he doesn't want to go."

She was done dancing around the reason she was in the tub in the middle of the day. They'd tried to find Cupcake a new home and some of his own kind and the dragon had returned to her.

"Hermione," he started with a sigh "it's not safe to-"

She stopped him by holding up a hand and making a pained face. "Draco, I think the baby's coming." Her voice was a gasp. She had to bend her head down so that her hair hid the smirk on her face as he went completely white and fled from the room in a panic.

If she had to hear one more time that something 'wasn't safe', she was going to go insane. Defeating Voldemort hadn't been safe, and she'd come out of the war just fine.

Once he was out the door, she chuckled; it had been just as much fun as she'd thought it would be to do that to him.

Draco must have heard the small noise, because he poked his head back in the room. "I just realized you're not due for a while and you're probably just trying to get me to stop talking," he said, his eyes narrowed into slits.

Hermione was just about to open her mouth to respond when something strange happened. A curl of black smoke started near her feet and moved up her body, completely enveloping her. It didn't hurt, but it was strange.

"What the hell?" she heard Draco say just before she felt a tugging sensation in her stomach, similar to that of a portkey.

The next thing she knew, it was blindingly bright and the air held a salty tang. She was sitting on the deck of a pirate ship covered in only the bubbles that had been floating on top of her bathwater.

Draco was a little bit faster on the uptake, probably because he'd been standing on his feet and didn't land on the deck and hit his head like Hermione had. He wrapped his shirt around her shoulders before the bubbles covering her popped.

Hermione did up the buttons as he pulled her to her feet. It was lucky that he was so much taller than her; the shirt reached almost to her knees and covered everything important.

"Where are we?" she whispered, stepping closer to him. There was something about being in a strange location and without undergarments that left her feeling exposed.

"Nothing looks familiar about this place, Granger? I would have thought you'd at least know what the place looked like if you were going to be sending people here," said an angry voice.

The couple whipped around to see Pansy standing there. Her nails were no longer perfect and her shoes were nowhere in sight, but it was definitely Pansy and she looked angry.

"You may have blocked me from using magic on this ship, but I bet you didn't count on me realizing that magic would still work on people _off _the ship." Her eyes landed on the rounded stomach pressing against the buttons on Draco's shirt. "Wow, you've really let yourself go."

"I'm _pregnant_, not getting fat," Hermione grumbled.

The other woman shot a startled glance back down to Hermione stomach, looking surprised. "Well, I never took Draco for the domestic type, but apparently I was wrong."

Draco had stopped paying any attention to his former fiancé the second she said she wasn't able to use magic anymore. She wasn't a threat. The hoard of pirates slowly advancing towards them with swords drawn on the other hand, were worrying.

"Gentlemen," Draco started, "It seems your serving wench has somehow escaped the kitchen –or the galley. I can never remember the nautical terminology."

One of the pirates grabbed Pansy's wand, snapped it, and tossed the pieces into the ocean. He growled something to her and shoved her towards a door, presumably leading to the kitchen. Pansy shot a look that was pure venom at Hermione before she disappeared below deck.

Draco pulled Hermione behind him, putting himself between her and the still advancing pirates. The men didn't seem able to decide if he was some sort of dangerous creature that could just pop into existence or if he was something they could easily kill. He wasn't taking any chances with Hermione should they realize their swords _would _be effective against the new threat.

"If you have any idea how to get us out of here, now's the time to do it," he whispered out of the corner of his mouth.

The words served to snap Hermione into action. With a wave of her wand, she had them back in the Manor just as the pirates had been about to charge.

She caught a look at Draco's face and immediately her heart was in her throat. While they'd been on the pirate ship she'd been worried, but never as terrified as she was upon seeing his expression. He was pale and his eyes were wide, looking haunted and shocked. Something was horribly, horribly wrong.

"Draco, what is it?" she asked, gripping his arm tightly, as if the pressure of her fingers alone could make it better.

"I'm pretty sure I saw a flash of Goyle with breasts just before we Disapparated," the blond said, looking like he was going to throw up.

Hermione whacked his arm for worrying her so much. A female Goyle_was_disturbing, but it was nothing to panic her over.

Her expression shifted to smug as something occurred to her. "I was just abducted from the safety of my bathtub and transported to a pirate ship. I really don't think a family of friendly dragons in the garden are much of an issue safety-wise. I'm never going to be completely safe, no matter how much you try to protect me."

The blond raised a pale eyebrow. "Where are you going with this?"

"We're keeping the dragons," she said firmly.

Draco knew when he wasn't going to win an argument. "Fine, the dragon can stay, but none of them can come into the house!"

She nodded eagerly, kissing him on the cheek and rushing out of the room to find some pants. Then she was going to share the good news with her scaly friends.

Draco watched her go and sighed tiredly; she was going to be the death of him. At least it wouldn't be a boring death.

**The End**


End file.
